Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Caroline Baumal Sells 1,882 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Caroline Baumal sold 1,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $37,244.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 89,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,767,721.96. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $20.95 on Thursday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.10 and a 1-year high of $31.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.31.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.46) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,244,000 after buying an additional 149,654 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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.