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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,010,000 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the November 30th total of 21,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $56,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 300.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of APLS stock opened at $31.91 on Wednesday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $73.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 0.94. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.04.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.17) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.94.

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).