David Watson Sells 2,475 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David Watson sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $48,980.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 96,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,023.77. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $20.95. 3,345,624 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,186,931. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.58 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. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $31.17.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 30,507 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,406,000 after buying an additional 232,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: Bank of America upgraded Apellis from neutral to buy and set a $28 price target, citing strong early launch trajectory for the company’s kidney-disease therapy — a clear near-term catalyst for revenue upside. Apellis upgraded at BofA on launch trajectory for kidney disease therapy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note in Benzinga highlights that current valuation may underappreciate Empaveli (the company’s therapy) potential and early uptake in a rare kidney-disease market, signaling a possible multi-year revenue inflection if adoption continues. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $29 to $26 but kept an overweight rating, reflecting a modest reset to near-term expectations while still projecting upside versus current levels. Wells Fargo trims price target to $26
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a hold rating for Apellis, indicating some analysts remain cautious despite positive launch signals. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS)
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold shares on Jan. 20 — CFO Timothy Sullivan sold 2,892 shares and General Counsel David Watson sold 2,475 shares. While both still hold large positions, insider sales can be perceived negatively by investors monitoring insider conviction. Form 4 – Timothy Eugene Sullivan Form 4 – David O. Watson

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.