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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,010,000 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the November 30th total of 21,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLS opened at $31.90 on Tuesday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $73.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.17) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, November 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.94.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).