Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois Sells 27,192 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Cedric Francois also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Cedric Francois sold 8,182 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $161,921.78.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Cedric Francois sold 10,186 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $226,027.34.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,214,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,258,745. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $30.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.99 and a 200 day moving average of $23.49.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on APLS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. 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 report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright decreased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.53.

Key Stories 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

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.