Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective points to a potential upside of 72.51% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on APLS. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS stock opened at $17.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.34 and a 200-day moving average of $23.02. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.24 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $30.48.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. The company had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.29) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,797 shares of the firm’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 $60,890.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 86,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,692.79. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $73,386.67. Following the transaction, the insider owned 78,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,705,744.81. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,486,082 in the last ninety days. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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.