Key Points
- General Counsel David Watson sold 5,780 shares of Apellis on Jan. 13 at an average price of $22.19 for $128,258, leaving him with 98,838 shares—a 5.52% reduction in his stake.
- The GC sale was among wider Jan. 13 insider selling by senior executives, and together with a >500% spike in put purchases and an approximate 23% weekly share drop after weaker SYFOVRE commentary, has amplified short‑term bearish sentiment and volatility.
- Despite a strong recent quarter—$1.67 EPS vs. $1.03 expected and revenue of $458.6M (up 133% YoY)—analysts remain mixed, with the stock carrying an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target of $33.65 while several firms have trimmed forecasts.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) CAO James George Chopas sold 873 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $19,371.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 52,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,083.05. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $20.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.10. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $31.17. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.23 and a beta of 0.31.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Key Headlines Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals
Here are the key news stories impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterates a Buy on Apellis, signaling continued conviction in longer‑term commercial execution and pipeline upside — a supportive note for investors focused beyond the near term. Wells Fargo Buy Note
- Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus initiated/issued a Buy (or reiterated) view, adding another constructive Wall Street voice that could help anchor valuation if execution improves. Stifel Buy Note
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain conflicted on Apellis — some highlight upside from Syfovre rollout and nephrology expansion while others emphasize near‑term sales risk and valuation — expect continued mixed research notes and volatile reactions to company updates. Analysts Conflicted
- Negative Sentiment: Apellis disclosed preliminary Q4 U.S. net product revenue of $190M; commentary pointed to weaker Syfovre sales and mixed Empaveli uptake — the primary near‑term catalyst behind a sharp weekly decline and investor concern about commercial momentum. Zacks Coverage on Revenue/Weak Sales
- Negative Sentiment: Major research houses (Cantor Fitzgerald, Needham) cut forecasts or turned more pessimistic, increasing downward pressure by lowering investor expectations and modelled revenues. Cantor Fitzgerald Note Needham Note
- Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: multiple senior execs (CEO, CFO, GC and others) sold shares on Jan. 13 — the volume of insider disposals can be read negatively by the market even though filings show they retain large stakes. SEC Form 4 (CEO Sale)
- Negative Sentiment: Options flow showed a >500% spike in put purchases (6,398 puts), indicating elevated hedging and bearish bets that can amplify short‑term volatility and downside pressure. Source: options flow report
Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $364,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $2,419,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,838,000 after buying an additional 30,507 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company's stock worth $8,406,000 after acquiring an additional 232,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.65.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Apellis Pharmaceuticals
About Apellis Pharmaceuticals
(
Get Free Report)
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company's research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
The company's lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.
Featured Stories
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
