Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $20.47, but opened at $21.64. Bank of America now has a $28.00 price target on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $21.0130, with a volume of 482,150 shares traded.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $128,258.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 98,838 shares in the company, valued at $2,193,215.22. The trade was a 5.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 3,856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $85,564.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 107,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,105.20. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,973 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,824. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS from Neutral to Buy, citing a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for its newly approved kidney-disease therapy and assigning a $28 price target, which signals meaningful upside from current levels. Apellis upgraded at BofA on launch trajectory for kidney disease therapy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst piece highlights early uptake of Empaveli (Apellis’s newly approved rare-kidney-disease treatment) and argues current Apellis valuation understates Empaveli’s revenue potential — a narrative that supports a re-rating if commercial momentum continues. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $29 to $26 but maintained an Overweight rating — a mixed signal that lowers upside expectations but keeps institutional support. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold on APLS, which is a neutral institutional stance and may limit upside 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 other officers) sold shares on Jan. 20 — a cluster of Form 4 filings that can weigh on sentiment even if transactions are routine diversification. See CEO filing here for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.95 and a 200 day moving average of $23.50.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm’s 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) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.