Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Update

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,060,000 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the January 15th total of 18,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $83,364.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,271,316.40. The trade was a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the business’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 transaction of $95,208.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,365 shares of company stock valued at $1,810,479 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $332,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,707 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $402,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $384,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $28.18 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.03. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.88 and a beta of 0.96. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $71.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

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).