Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Given New $60.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Citigroup from $67.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 41.84% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.67.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $1.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,160,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,952. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.53. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $19.83 and a fifty-two week high of $94.75.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54). The business had revenue of $172.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.37 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 178.60% and a negative net margin of 133.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.56) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $96,978.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,325,516.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $96,978.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,325,516.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 1,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $77,799.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,539.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 376,427 shares of company stock valued at $23,169,639. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 79.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,542,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571,606 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,145,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,497 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $56,640,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,460,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,277,000 after purchasing an additional 677,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 126.6% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,053,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,089,000 after buying an additional 588,875 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA).