Short Interest in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Drops By 16.0%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,040,000 shares, a decline of 16.0% from the December 31st total of 21,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $33,351.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 48,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,839.34. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $83,364.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,271,316.40. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,002 shares of company stock worth $1,800,119 in the last ninety days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,459,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,918. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $71.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.17) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

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).