Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Up 11.5% in November

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,180,000 shares, an increase of 11.5% from the October 31st total of 20,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $1,340,510.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,623,000. This trade represents a 27.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 134,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 39,931 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 90.7% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 42,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after buying an additional 20,435 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 137.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 123,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after buying an additional 71,650 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 240.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 54,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 38,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $33.75 on Monday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $73.80. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of -16.71 and a beta of 0.87. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.25.

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

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).