Key Points
- Insider sale: Director Caroline Baumal sold 1,882 shares on Jan. 20 at an average price of $19.79 for $37,244.78, reducing her stake by 2.06% to 89,324 shares (worth about $1.77M).
- Clustered officer sales: Multiple senior insiders (including the CEO, CFO and general counsel) also filed Form 4s for Jan. 20, a concentrated round of sales that could weigh on investor sentiment despite routine diversification.
- Strong recent results but mixed analyst views: Apellis reported a beat with $1.67 EPS and $458.6M revenue (up 133% YoY), while analysts remain mixed overall—consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $33.53.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) CAO James George Chopas sold 726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $14,367.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 51,869 shares in the company, valued at $1,026,487.51. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.
James George Chopas also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, January 13th, James George Chopas sold 873 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $19,371.87.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3%
Shares of APLS opened at $20.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a current ratio of 3.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.31. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.46) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals this week:
- Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS from Neutral to Buy, citing a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for its newly approved kidney-disease therapy and assigning a $28 price target, which signals meaningful upside from current levels. Apellis upgraded at BofA on launch trajectory for kidney disease therapy
- Positive Sentiment: An analyst piece highlights early uptake of Empaveli (Apellis’s newly approved rare-kidney-disease treatment) and argues current Apellis valuation understates Empaveli’s revenue potential — a narrative that supports a re-rating if commercial momentum continues. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
- Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $29 to $26 but maintained an Overweight rating — a mixed signal that lowers upside expectations but keeps institutional support. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
- Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold on APLS, which is a neutral institutional stance and may limit upside from investors seeking stronger analyst conviction. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS)
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior insiders (including CEO Cedric Francois, CFO Timothy Sullivan, General Counsel David Watson and other officers) sold shares on Jan. 20 — a cluster of Form 4 filings that can weigh on sentiment even if transactions are routine diversification. See CEO filing here for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.53.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Apellis Pharmaceuticals
Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company's stock worth $46,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,977,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,995 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% during the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,604,105 shares of the company's stock worth $28,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274,523 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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