Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Pascal Deschatelets Sells 5,928 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the 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 $129,052.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,065,586.14. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Pascal Deschatelets also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Pascal Deschatelets sold 909 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $17,989.11.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Pascal Deschatelets sold 2,277 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $50,526.63.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of APLS opened at $21.76 on Friday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $30.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.52.

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

Key Apellis Pharmaceuticals News

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 Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,821,000 after buying an additional 2,681,263 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $40,977,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,995 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% during the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 386.7% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,604,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,523 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.