Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on APLS. Bank of America upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced 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. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.61.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of APLS stock opened at $20.96 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.00 and a 200-day moving average of $23.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 161.24 and a beta of 0.26.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.29) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 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 transaction of $168,173.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,238.86. This trade represents a 9.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $129,052.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,065,586.14. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $192,589,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,977,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,975,000 after buying an additional 1,298,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright retains a “Buy” rating and a $48 price target, signaling continued analyst conviction in Apellis’ longer‑term upside. HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright published a long‑range forecast that includes a return to positive EPS by FY2030 (EPS ~$1.97), which underpins the firm’s $48 target and suggests expected recovery beyond the near term. HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Apellis’ latest quarter delivered an EPS beat ($0.47 vs. expectations) but revenue was down ~6% year‑over‑year — a mixed fundamental print that reduces downside surprise risk but highlights demand pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in recent filings appears anomalous (zero / NaN entries) and is not a reliable signal of investor positioning at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright sharply lowered near‑term and multi‑year EPS forecasts (e.g., FY2026 cut to ~($2.19) from ($1.69); FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly estimates were also reduced), increasing near‑term earnings uncertainty and pressuring the stock. HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its price target to $44, signaling reduced upside in the nearer term and contributing to downward pressure. Citigroup Lowers Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $44.00
• Negative Sentiment: Wedbush and Royal Bank of Canada also lowered expectations, adding to the analyst‑driven sell pressure. Wedbush Has Lowered Expectations for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

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.