Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Sells $591,969.84 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the firm’s 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 $591,969.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,227,199.65. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Cedric Francois also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Cedric Francois sold 8,182 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $161,921.78.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Cedric Francois sold 10,186 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $226,027.34.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS opened at $21.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.91.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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.