Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ (APLS) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $41.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $37.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.45% from the stock’s previous close.

APLS has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target (down from $48.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.42. 23,729,167 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,578,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 310.68 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.11 and a 200 day moving average of $22.58. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $40.45.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of the business’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 owned 49,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,254.85. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the 3rd 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to acquire Apellis for $41.00 per share in cash (≈$5.6B) plus a nontransferable CVR that could pay up to $4 total if SYFOVRE sales targets are met — the deal provides an immediate, near‑term cash value floor for shareholders and explains the stock rally. Biogen to Acquire Apellis (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: APLS traded with very high volume and posted a dramatic intraday gain (reported ~135% move) as the market repriced the shares to reflect the takeover premium and CVR consideration. APLS Moves 135.4% Higher (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokers reaffirmed neutral/market‑perform ratings with price targets clustered around the deal price (Citigroup and HC Wainwright at $41; Raymond James market perform), signaling limited analyst upside now that the cash offer sets a near-term valuation. Broker Notes (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder law firms (Kahn Swick & Foti, Ademi, Halper Sadeh) have opened investigations into whether the $41 deal price and process are fair — potential litigation could seek a higher price, delay closing, or add deal risk/transaction costs. Investor Alert: KSF Investigation (BusinessWire)
• Negative Sentiment: Independent pressures: a Needham downgrade to hold and prior price‑target cuts (Cantor Fitzgerald) reflect differing views on Apellis’ standalone outlook and suggest some sell‑side skepticism about longer‑term upside absent a competing bid or strong SYFOVRE performance. Analyst Changes (TickerReport)

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.