Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,820,000 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the February 13th total of 17,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.5 days. Approximately 18.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 13,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $412,356.93. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 418,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,735,533.17. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,117 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,803 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $24.81 on Thursday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $23.77 and a 12-month high of $59.91. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of -12.22 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.27.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The business had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.73) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.53.

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).