Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Earns Neutral Rating from Citigroup

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Citigroup in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $41.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $44.00. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.52% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on APLS. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.89.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $40.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 310.68 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.11 and its 200-day moving average is $22.58.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. The business had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $170,502.64. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 88,531 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,319.87. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 115,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,486,082 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 225,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,677,000 after acquiring an additional 42,960 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 96,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 19,500 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $366,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 27,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 13,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Apellis Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to acquire Apellis for $41.00 in cash per share plus a CVR that could add up to $4 per share on SYFOVRE sales milestones — the deal is the primary catalyst for the sharp rise in APLS shares. Biogen to buy Apellis Pharmaceuticals for $5.6 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker reaction: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $41 price target (down from $48), which implies little upside versus the acquisition price and signals mixed analyst guidance post‑deal. HC Wainwright rating note
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes that despite heavy volume and the deal news, recent trends in earnings estimate revisions could limit sustainable upside unless fundamentals or deal certainty improve. Apellis Moves 135.4% Higher: Will This Strength Last?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder law firms announced investigations (Kahn Swick & Foti, Halper Sadeh, Ademi LLP) questioning whether Apellis shareholders are receiving a fair price/process in the sale — potential legal challenges or disclosure fights could delay closing or add deal uncertainty. KSF investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and target cuts around the deal: Needham cut APLS from “buy” to “hold” and Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its target previously — these actions reflect mixed views on deal premium and post‑close expectations. Cantor Fitzgerald cuts PT on Apellis

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.