Needham & Company LLC Downgrades Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) to Hold

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on APLS. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $40.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.72 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.71. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $40.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 2.70.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $223,947.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,224.77. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $129,052.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 96,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to buy Apellis for about $5.6B at $41.00/share in cash plus a CVR (up to $4 per share contingent on SYFOVRE sales). The deal creates an immediate cash floor near the offer price and is the primary catalyst for the stock move. Biogen to buy Apellis for $5.6B (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: APLS experienced an outsized intraday rally and volume surge following the deal announcement, signaling strong market recognition of the takeover premium and active position adjustments by investors. APLS stock moves 135.4% higher (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms updated price targets quickly to the $41 offer level (Barclays raised its PT dramatically from $24 to $41; JPMorgan and others moved or reaffirmed targets at $41), reducing near‑term upside beyond the bid and signaling analyst alignment with the transaction terms. Analyst reaction roundup (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and analysis pieces describe the strategic rationale for Biogen—adding C3/C5 complement therapies and accelerating nephrology/immunology growth—but these are background drivers rather than immediate share-movement triggers now that a cash offer is on the table. Biogen rationale and portfolio fit (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings mostly remain “neutral/market perform/equal weight” despite PT convergence at the offer price; that suggests limited analyst-driven upside beyond the bid absent a higher competing bid or improved CVR prospects. Investment story shifting with deals and analyst revisions (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder law firms have launched investigations and alerts challenging the adequacy of the deal price and sale process—introducing litigation and deal‑approval risk that could delay or alter the transaction terms. These actions create execution uncertainty for investors relying on a clean, timely close. Shareholder investigation (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: A few broker changes (Needham downgrade; previous Cantor Fitzgerald PT cut) and remaining uncertainty over the CVR payout make upside beyond $41 speculative—returns above the offer depend on competing bids, litigation outcomes, or better-than-expected SYFOVRE sales that trigger CVR payments. Cantor Fitzgerald PT cut (InsiderMonkey)

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.