Short Interest in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Expands By 38.2%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,090,000 shares, an increase of 38.2% from the September 30th total of 15,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.41.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of APLS traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.68. 1,122,746 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,685,060. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.22 and its 200-day moving average is $38.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 5.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $26.28 and a 52 week high of $73.80. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of -7.71 and a beta of 0.87.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $199.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.89 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 52.99% and a negative return on equity of 138.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 110.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.02) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $1,340,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,623,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the second quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 78,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,021,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).