Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ (APLS) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a $41.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $37.00.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on APLS. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (down from $44.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.72 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $40.45.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its 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 return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The business had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 78,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,705,744.81. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $591,969.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,227,199.65. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,674,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,153,000 after buying an additional 687,471 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,049,000 after buying an additional 1,000,382 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $192,589,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,452,000 after buying an additional 1,898,995 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,613,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,890,000 after acquiring an additional 575,802 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about 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)

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.