Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Insider Nur Nicholson Sells 2,203 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Nur Nicholson sold 2,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.79, for a total transaction of $43,597.37. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 78,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,302.97. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• 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 Price Performance

Shares of APLS traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.95. 3,751,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,365,575. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.52. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $31.17.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines 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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 30,507 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted 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 valued at $8,406,000 after acquiring an additional 232,506 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.