Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Sells $161,921.78 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 8,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $161,921.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 313,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,198,960.23. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Cedric Francois also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, January 22nd, Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Cedric Francois sold 10,186 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $226,027.34.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

APLS opened at $21.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.52. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $30.91. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. 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 (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.46) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS to Buy and cited a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for Apellis’s newly approved kidney-disease therapy, assigning a $28 price target — a vote of confidence that implies material upside if commercial momentum continues. Apellis Raised to Buy at Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note highlights early uptake of Empaveli and argues current valuation understates its revenue potential; continued strong launch metrics could drive a re‑rating and support upside from current levels. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target (from $29 to $26) but kept an Overweight rating — a mixed signal that reduces upside expectations while leaving institutional support intact. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold rating, a neutral stance that may temper buying interest 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 others — filed Form 4 sales on Jan. 20–22 (large, clustered disposals totaling many tens of thousands of shares). Even if routine (diversification or option-related), clustered executive selling typically weighs on near‑term sentiment and likely contributed to the stock decline. See CEO filing for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,244,000 after buying an additional 149,654 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in 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 last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.