Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on APLS. Wedbush lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (down from $44.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.11.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $40.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 310.87 and a beta of -0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.87 and a 200-day moving average of $22.83. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $40.48.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 shares of the company’s 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 $223,947.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,224.77. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $129,052.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,065,586.14. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 96,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Xponance LLC raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third 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.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to acquire Apellis for about $5.6B, bringing immediate valuation certainty (cash consideration of $41.00/share plus contingent value rights tied to SYFOVRE sales). Biogen to Acquire Apellis (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: APLS shares jumped dramatically on the deal announcement as traders priced in the buyout premium and CVR upside. APLS stock soars 140% (MSN)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several banks raised price targets to roughly $41 (Mizuho, Barclays, JPMorgan), but many gave neutral/equal-weight ratings — implying limited upside above the deal price and signaling more conservative near-term expectations. Analyst target updates (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary and comparisons highlight Apellis’ assets (SYFOVRE and immunology pipeline) as strategic for acquirers — useful context for longer‑term value but not an immediate catalyst beyond the acquisition. Comparing Apellis with competitors (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Major sell‑side shops have rapidly cut ratings (several downgrades from strong-buy/buy to hold/neutral), reflecting concerns about near-term growth post-sale, which could dampen secondary trading sentiment ahead of deal close. JP Morgan Downgrades Apellis (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Two law firms have launched shareholder investigations into the proposed sale (pricing and process), adding legal/closing‑risk uncertainty that could affect timing or terms. Shareholder investigation (PR Newswire)

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.