Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,060,000 shares, a drop 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on APLS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 307,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,483.60. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,365 shares of company stock valued at $1,810,479 in the last 90 days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $28.39 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $71.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -13.99 and a beta of 0.96. 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 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).