Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Up 5.9% in June

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,900,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the May 31st total of 13,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.56.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $35.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a current ratio of 3.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.34. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.23 and a beta of 0.88. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $19.83 and a one year high of $90.21.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $172.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.37 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 160.77% and a negative net margin of 79.67%. The company’s revenue was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.56) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.24, for a total transaction of $1,451,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,375,801.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 78,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $3,341,711.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,261,880.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.24, for a total transaction of $1,451,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,375,801.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,014 shares of company stock worth $8,537,118. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $29,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $89,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. HC Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently 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).