On January 20, 2026, Cedric Francois, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS), completed a sale of 8,182 shares of the company's common stock. The transaction was executed at a price of $19.7929 per share, culminating in total proceeds of approximately $161,945.
Following this divestiture, Francois maintains a direct ownership stake comprising 313,237 Apellis shares. Beyond this, his indirect holdings extend through multiple trust entities, including The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2 with 307,946 shares, The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 holding 472,065 shares, The Francois Grossi Trust owning 300,000 shares, and The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust with 234,411 shares.
In a separate disclosure, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presented preliminary data concerning its U.S. fiscal year 2025 product revenue. The company reported total revenue of $689 million, calculated as the aggregate of $587 million generated from sales of Syfovre for geographic atrophy and $102 million derived from Empaveli in its approved indications.
This revenue figure fell marginally short of projections from key financial institutions. Goldman Sachs had anticipated a figure of $692 million, while the FactSet consensus was slightly higher at $698 million.
Reflecting these results, Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Sell rating on Apellis shares with a target price set at $19.00. Conversely, BofA Securities upgraded their stance on the company from Neutral to Buy, emphasizing the promising commercial uptake of Empaveli in rare kidney disease indications. The broker noted early robust adoption, recording 267 new patient start forms following Empaveli's approval for C3G/IC-MPGN treatment.
Meanwhile, Cantor Fitzgerald retained an Overweight rating on Apellis, though it reduced its price target from $39.00 to $35.00, acknowledging a favorable long-term outlook despite revenue concerns. Needham also maintained a Buy rating but adjusted its price target slightly downward from $29.00 to $28.00, highlighting worries about Syfovre's growth momentum.