Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Given “Neutral” Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their neutral rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $41.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $48.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $40.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.71. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.72 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 2.70.

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

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 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 $168,173.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,238.86. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $129,052.56. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,065,586.14. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 225,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,677,000 after purchasing an additional 42,960 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 96,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 19,500 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $366,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 27,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 4,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 13,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to buy Apellis for about $5.6B at $41.00/share in cash plus a CVR (up to $4 per share contingent on SYFOVRE sales). The deal creates an immediate cash floor near the offer price and is the primary catalyst for the stock move. Biogen to buy Apellis for $5.6B (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: APLS experienced an outsized intraday rally and volume surge following the deal announcement, signaling strong market recognition of the takeover premium and active position adjustments by investors. APLS stock moves 135.4% higher (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms updated price targets quickly to the $41 offer level (Barclays raised its PT dramatically from $24 to $41; JPMorgan and others moved or reaffirmed targets at $41), reducing near‑term upside beyond the bid and signaling analyst alignment with the transaction terms. Analyst reaction roundup (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and analysis pieces describe the strategic rationale for Biogen—adding C3/C5 complement therapies and accelerating nephrology/immunology growth—but these are background drivers rather than immediate share-movement triggers now that a cash offer is on the table. Biogen rationale and portfolio fit (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings mostly remain “neutral/market perform/equal weight” despite PT convergence at the offer price; that suggests limited analyst-driven upside beyond the bid absent a higher competing bid or improved CVR prospects. Investment story shifting with deals and analyst revisions (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder law firms have launched investigations and alerts challenging the adequacy of the deal price and sale process—introducing litigation and deal‑approval risk that could delay or alter the transaction terms. These actions create execution uncertainty for investors relying on a clean, timely close. Shareholder investigation (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: A few broker changes (Needham downgrade; previous Cantor Fitzgerald PT cut) and remaining uncertainty over the CVR payout make upside beyond $41 speculative—returns above the offer depend on competing bids, litigation outcomes, or better-than-expected SYFOVRE sales that trigger CVR payments. Cantor Fitzgerald PT cut (InsiderMonkey)

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.