Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO Sells $44,933.28 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $44,933.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 49,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,254.85. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

James George Chopas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, James George Chopas sold 726 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $14,367.54.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, James George Chopas sold 873 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $19,371.87.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $21.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day moving average of $23.59. 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 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $30.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.46) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APLS. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.53.

Trending Headlines about 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

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deep Track Capital LP raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,076,000 after purchasing an additional 184,292 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position 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 valued at $59,975,000 after buying an additional 1,298,055 shares in 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.