Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Sells 5,928 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $129,052.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,065,586.14. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Pascal Deschatelets also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Pascal Deschatelets sold 909 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $17,989.11.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Pascal Deschatelets sold 2,277 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $50,526.63.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock 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 were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,258,745. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.49. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 3.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.18 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in 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 increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. 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 report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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.