Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Nur Nicholson Sells 7,725 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $168,173.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,548,238.86. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Nur Nicholson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Nur Nicholson sold 2,203 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $43,597.37.
• On Tuesday, January 13th, Nur Nicholson sold 2,618 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $58,093.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $21.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.52. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $30.91. 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 stock has a market cap 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 data 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 business had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.46) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on APLS. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Deep Track Capital LP grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,382 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,995 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681,263 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,076,000 after purchasing an additional 184,292 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,055 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

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.