Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Sells $226,027.34 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 10,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $226,027.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 321,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,132,287.61. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of APLS opened at $19.94 on Friday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 64.32 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.89 and its 200 day moving average is $23.45.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The company had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.46) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on APLS shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, November 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.65.

Key Headlines Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy on Apellis, signaling continued confidence in the company’s longer‑term commercial execution and pipeline upside — a supportive voice for holders focused beyond near‑term sales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus issued a Buy on APLS (or reiterated constructive coverage), adding a second favorable analyst view that could help stabilize valuation if execution improves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain mixed on Apellis: some see upside from Syfovre rollout and nephrology expansion while others emphasize near‑term sales risk and valuation — expect continued divergent research notes and volatile price reactions to company updates. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Apellis reported preliminary Q4 U.S. net product revenue of $190M and flagged weaker Syfovre sales with mixed Empaveli uptake — the main near‑term driver cited for a recent sharp weekly decline in the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Major research houses (Cantor Fitzgerald, Needham) issued more pessimistic forecasts or lowered expectations, increasing downward pressure by reducing modeled revenues and price targets. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling on Jan. 13: multiple senior execs (CEO Cedric Francois, CFO Timothy Sullivan, General Counsel David Watson and others) sold shares at ~ $22.19 — filings show they still retain large stakes but the volume of disposals can be perceived negatively by the market. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Options flow indicated a large spike in put buying (reported >500% increase in put volume), reflecting elevated hedging and bearish positioning that can amplify short‑term volatility and downside pressure. Source: options flow reports

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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.