Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO James George Chopas Sells 726 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO James George Chopas sold 726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $14,367.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 51,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,026,487.51. This represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

James George Chopas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, James George Chopas sold 873 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $19,371.87.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $20.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $31.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.50.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.46) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Key Apellis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS from Neutral to Buy, citing a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for its newly approved kidney-disease therapy and assigning a $28 price target, which signals meaningful upside from current levels. Apellis upgraded at BofA on launch trajectory for kidney disease therapy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst piece highlights early uptake of Empaveli (Apellis’s newly approved rare-kidney-disease treatment) and argues current Apellis valuation understates Empaveli’s revenue potential — a narrative that supports a re-rating if commercial momentum continues. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $29 to $26 but maintained an Overweight rating — a mixed signal that lowers upside expectations but keeps institutional support. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold on APLS, which is a neutral institutional stance and may limit upside 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 other officers) sold shares on Jan. 20 — a cluster of Form 4 filings that can weigh on sentiment even if transactions are routine diversification. See CEO filing here for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 207.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after purchasing an additional 64,742 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after buying an additional 9,747 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 11,862 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,146.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 22,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.53.

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.