Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.5294.

APLS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,797 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $60,890.69. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,692.79. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $129,052.56. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 125,169 shares of company stock worth $2,700,681. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,244,000 after purchasing an additional 149,654 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of APLS opened at $21.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.10. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $16.10 and a 1-year high of $30.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.02 and a 200 day moving average of $23.56.

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

Key Headlines Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS to Buy and cited a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for Apellis’s newly approved kidney-disease therapy, assigning a $28 price target — a vote of confidence that implies material upside if commercial momentum continues. Apellis Raised to Buy at Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note highlights early uptake of Empaveli and argues current valuation understates its revenue potential; continued strong launch metrics could drive a re‑rating and support upside from current levels. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target (from $29 to $26) but kept an Overweight rating — a mixed signal that reduces upside expectations while leaving institutional support intact. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold rating, a neutral stance that may temper buying interest 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 others — filed Form 4 sales on Jan. 20–22 (large, clustered disposals totaling many tens of thousands of shares). Even if routine (diversification or option-related), clustered executive selling typically weighs on near‑term sentiment and likely contributed to the stock decline. See CEO filing for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4

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.