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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of 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 volume of 2,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $28.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.99 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $71.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $95,208.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,483.60. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,822,810.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,365 shares of company stock valued at $1,810,479. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Braidwell LP raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513,383 shares in the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $45,504,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,409,707 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385,080 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,832 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).