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 on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $48,980.25. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 96,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,023.77. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.0%

NASDAQ APLS opened at $22.00 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $31.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.97 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.49.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.46) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the second 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 purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised 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 worth $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 232,506 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: BofA upgraded APLS from Neutral to Buy, citing a stronger-than-expected launch trajectory for the company’s newly approved kidney-disease therapy and assigning a $28 price target — signaling notable upside if commercial momentum continues. Apellis upgraded at BofA on launch trajectory for kidney disease therapy
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note argues Apellis’s current valuation understates Empaveli’s (the newly approved rare-kidney-disease drug) revenue potential after early uptake, supporting a re-rating if prescriptions and payor access scale. Apellis Valuation Ignores Empaveli Potential, Says Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target (reducing upside expectations) but kept an Overweight stance — a mixed institutional signal that still leaves the company supported by some buy-side analysts. Wells Fargo lowers price target on Apellis
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold rating, which is neutral for near-term flows and may cap upside for investors seeking stronger analyst conviction. RBC Capital Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS)
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of insider sales on Jan. 20 (including CEO Cedric Francois, CFO Timothy Sullivan, General Counsel David Watson and other officers) has been disclosed via Form 4 filings — a coordination of sales that can hurt sentiment even if sales are routine diversification. 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.