HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for APLS Earnings

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) – Investment analysts at HC Wainwright increased their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report released on Wednesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright analyst D. Tsao now expects that the company will earn ($0.62) per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.63). HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($1.70) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.49) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.60) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.47) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.19) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($2.02) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($0.89) EPS and FY2029 earnings at $0.89 EPS.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on APLS. Wall Street Zen raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.61.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS opened at $20.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $30.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 161.24 and a beta of 0.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 207.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,944 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after buying an additional 64,742 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after buying an additional 9,747 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 118.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 11,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,146.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 22,052 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $73,386.67. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,353 shares in the company, valued at $1,705,744.81. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,065,586.14. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright retains a “Buy” rating and a $48 price target, signaling continued analyst conviction in Apellis’ longer‑term upside. HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright published a long‑range forecast that includes a return to positive EPS by FY2030 (EPS ~$1.97), which underpins the firm’s $48 target and suggests expected recovery beyond the near term. HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Apellis’ latest quarter delivered an EPS beat ($0.47 vs. expectations) but revenue was down ~6% year‑over‑year — a mixed fundamental print that reduces downside surprise risk but highlights demand pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in recent filings appears anomalous (zero / NaN entries) and is not a reliable signal of investor positioning at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright sharply lowered near‑term and multi‑year EPS forecasts (e.g., FY2026 cut to ~($2.19) from ($1.69); FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly estimates were also reduced), increasing near‑term earnings uncertainty and pressuring the stock. HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its price target to $44, signaling reduced upside in the nearer term and contributing to downward pressure. Citigroup Lowers Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $44.00
• Negative Sentiment: Wedbush and Royal Bank of Canada also lowered expectations, adding to the analyst‑driven sell pressure. Wedbush Has Lowered Expectations for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

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.