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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 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 value of $591,969.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares in the company, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Cedric Francois sold 8,182 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $226,027.34.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.76. 2,214,978 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,258,745. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.10 and a 1-year high of $30.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.49. 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 has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 30,507 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,406,000 after buying an additional 232,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Bank of America raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.