Wedbush Issues Optimistic Outlook for APLS Earnings

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) – Investment analysts at Wedbush increased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush analyst L. Chico now anticipates that the company will post earnings of ($0.43) per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.50). Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is ($1.70) per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.34) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.41) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.33) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($1.51) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($0.87) EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.04 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.28 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS stock opened at $26.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.81 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $23.77 and a 12 month high of $64.33.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,791.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 997,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,816,000 after purchasing an additional 971,431 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,793,000 after purchasing an additional 21,822 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 189,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $465,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 4,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $142,495.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 107,756 shares in the company, valued at $3,092,597.20. This trade represents a 4.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,365 shares of company stock worth $1,810,479. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA).