Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells $128,258.20 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David Watson sold 5,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $128,258.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 98,838 shares in the company, valued at $2,193,215.22. This trade represents a 5.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $19.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 64.32 and a beta of 0.31. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $31.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.45.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. The company 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%.Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.65.

Key Apellis Pharmaceuticals News

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Deep Track Capital LP lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% in the third quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,382 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $103,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,995 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $46,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681,263 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,076,000 after purchasing an additional 184,292 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,975,000 after buying an additional 1,298,055 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.