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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,280,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 16,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.6 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock opened at $29.47 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 0.88. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $29.28 and a 1 year high of $73.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 5.08 and a quick ratio of 4.18.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $199.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.89 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 52.99% and a negative return on equity of 138.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 110.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.02) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on APLS. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 23rd. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $1,340,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,623,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $725,000. Algert Global LLC increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 137.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 123,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after acquiring an additional 71,650 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,177,000 after acquiring an additional 190,420 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 146.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 14,601 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,350,000. 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).