Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CFO Sells 2,892 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 2,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total value of $57,232.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,880.52. This represents a 2.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Timothy Eugene Sullivan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 3,856 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $85,564.64.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.95. 3,345,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,186,931. 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 fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.17. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.93 and its 200 day moving average is $23.52.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on APLS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,244,000 after buying an additional 149,654 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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.