Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APLS. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $168,173.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,548,238.86. The trade was a 9.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $129,052.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,065,586.14. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532. Corporate insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,674,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,153,000 after acquiring an additional 687,471 shares during the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,382 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $192,589,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,613,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,890,000 after purchasing an additional 575,802 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLS opened at $22.20 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.10. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $30.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 71.62 and a beta of 0.26.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.