Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Sells $73,386.67 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 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 $73,386.67. Following the sale, the insider owned 78,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,705,744.81. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Mark Jeffrey Delong also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 1,334 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $26,399.86.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 1,780 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $39,498.20.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $21.76 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $30.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.59.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business 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 firm posted ($0.46) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines 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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,244,000 after acquiring an additional 149,654 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.53.

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.