Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Up 7.3% in December

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,480,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 20,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of APLS traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,510,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,200. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $71.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.88 and a 200 day moving average of $33.37.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.17) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,308 shares of company stock valued at $511,406 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 45,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 134,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,161,000 after acquiring an additional 39,931 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 90.7% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 42,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 20,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).