Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Mark Jeffrey Delong Sells 3,371 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $73,386.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 78,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,705,744.81. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Mark Jeffrey Delong also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 1,334 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $26,399.86.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 1,780 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $39,498.20.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.76. 2,214,978 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,258,745. 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 quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.49. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $30.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its 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 return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 30,507 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 232,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. 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 company. According to 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.