Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Cut to “Hold” at Roth Mkm

Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.11.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS opened at $40.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 310.87 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $40.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $44,933.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 49,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,254.85. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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 $73,386.67. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,705,744.81. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 115,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,486,082 over the last 90 days. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in 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. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target sharply from $20 to $41 (maintaining a neutral rating), implying modest upside from current levels and signaling greater confidence in valuation after the run-up. Mizuho raises PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup reaffirmed a neutral stance on Apellis (reporting coverage note). This keeps some institutional support for a non‑committal view despite other downgrades. Citigroup reaffirm
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan is reporting a “neutral” rating in recent coverage notes — another signal that large banks are shifting to more cautious, hold/neutral stances instead of bullish calls. JPMorgan neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple major sell‑side firms downgraded Apellis (many moving from strong‑buy/overweight to hold/neutral): Roth MKM, Cantor Fitzgerald, Jefferies, William Blair, Robert W. Baird, HC Wainwright, Raymond James, Needham and others. These coordinated rating cuts are the primary near‑term driver putting downward pressure on the stock as investors lock in gains after the rally. Representative coverage: Zacks analyst downgrades roundup Cantor Fitzgerald downgrade Raymond James lowered

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.