Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO Sells 2,064 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $44,933.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 49,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,254.85. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

James George Chopas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, James George Chopas sold 726 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $14,367.54.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, James George Chopas sold 873 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $19,371.87.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,214,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,258,745. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a current ratio of 3.54. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.49. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.91.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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 for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in 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. raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

More 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

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.