JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $54.00

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 118.89% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on APLS. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.67. The company had a trading volume of 526,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,442. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.15 and a beta of 0.96. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $23.81 and a 52-week high of $66.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The business had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 2,145 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.96, for a total transaction of $64,264.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,558,249.56. The trade was a 3.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $62,279.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,528,470. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,365 shares of company stock worth $1,810,479 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 189,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).