Cedric Francois Sells 27,192 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Cedric Francois sold 8,182 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $161,921.78.
• 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%

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $21.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $30.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.56.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on APLS shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.53.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deep Track Capital LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,000,382 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,452,000 after buying an additional 1,898,995 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,821,000 after buying an additional 2,681,263 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 184,292 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,055 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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.