HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at HC Wainwright from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price suggests a potential upside of 121.81% from the stock’s previous close. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ FY2030 earnings at $1.97 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.61.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $21.64 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.07 and its 200 day moving average is $23.81. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.48. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 166.47 and a beta of 0.26.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares in the company, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $73,386.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,705,744.81. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $364,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.0% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 155,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,517,000 after buying an additional 50,375 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,406,000 after buying an additional 232,506 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its long‑range outlook (FY2030 EPS to $1.97), reiterated a “Buy” and lifted its price target to $48 — a strongly bullish signal that likely supported buying interest this session. HC Wainwright raises target to $48
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its target from $45 to $44 but kept a “Buy” rating — a modestly cautious move that is unlikely to materially change conviction among bullish investors. Citigroup price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings/transcript sources for the Feb. 24 Q4 call are circulating (full transcript available) — the call contains detail investors will parse for guidance and product trends; headlines are mixed across outlets. Earnings call transcript (Yahoo) Earnings call transcript (InsiderMonkey)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data released shows “0 shares” and NaN changes — this is almost certainly a reporting or processing error and should not be treated as a genuine change in borrow/short pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada cut its target to $21 and moved to “Sector Perform,” which signals lower near‑term expectations and adds selling pressure for more cautious holders. RBC target cut Coverage note
• Negative Sentiment: Wedbush lowered its target to $18 and moved to “Neutral,” another sign of reduced analyst conviction that could weigh on the stock if follow‑through selling occurs. Wedbush target cut Coverage note
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks flagged a wider‑than‑expected Q4 loss and an 8% slip in Syfovre sales (though total revenue beat estimates and Empaveli grew on a new indication) — mixed results that may keep some investors cautious until product trends clarify. Zacks earnings summary

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.