Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO Sells $44,933.28 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $44,933.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 49,805 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, January 20th, James George Chopas sold 726 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $14,367.54.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, James George Chopas sold 873 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $19,371.87.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.76. 2,214,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,258,745. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $30.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.49.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.46) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APLS. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS to Buy and cited a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for Apellis’s newly approved kidney-disease therapy, assigning a $28 price target — a vote of confidence that implies material upside if commercial momentum continues. Apellis Raised to Buy at Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note highlights early uptake of Empaveli and argues current valuation understates its revenue potential; continued strong launch metrics could drive a re‑rating and support upside from current levels. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target (from $29 to $26) but kept an Overweight rating — a mixed signal that reduces upside expectations while leaving institutional support intact. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold rating, a neutral stance that may temper buying interest 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 others — filed Form 4 sales on Jan. 20–22 (large, clustered disposals totaling many tens of thousands of shares). Even if routine (diversification or option-related), clustered executive selling typically weighs on near‑term sentiment and likely contributed to the stock decline. See CEO filing for details. CEO Cedric Francois Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 58,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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.