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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading 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 stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.53.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 2,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $48,980.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 96,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,023.77. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $26,399.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 81,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,617,317.96. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,973 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,824. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

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 the company’s newly approved kidney-disease therapy and assigning a $28 price target — signaling notable upside if commercial momentum continues. Apellis upgraded at BofA on launch trajectory for kidney disease therapy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note argues Apellis’s current valuation understates Empaveli’s (the newly approved rare-kidney-disease drug) revenue potential after early uptake, supporting a re-rating if prescriptions and payor access scale. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target (reducing upside expectations) but kept an Overweight stance — a mixed institutional signal that still leaves the company supported by some buy-side analysts. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold rating, which is neutral for near-term flows and may cap upside for investors seeking stronger analyst conviction. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS)
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of insider sales on Jan. 20 (including CEO Cedric Francois, CFO Timothy Sullivan, General Counsel David Watson and other officers) has been disclosed via Form 4 filings — a coordination of sales that can hurt sentiment even if sales are routine diversification. See CEO filing for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised 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 buying an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.0%

The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.97 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average is $23.49. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.46) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current 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.