On January 20, 2026, Nur Nicholson, serving as Chief Technical Officer of Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: APLS), completed a transaction involving the sale of 2,203 shares of the company's common stock. The shares were transacted at a unit price of $19.7929, amounting to a total value of approximately $43,603. Following this disposal, Nicholson retains direct ownership of 78,843 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals.
This stock sale was executed explicitly to meet tax withholding requirements linked to the release of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) on January 16, 2026. Such transactions often reflect routine administrative actions rather than signals about the company’s operational outlook.
In parallel, Apellis Pharmaceuticals announced preliminary data revealing its U.S. product revenue for the fiscal year 2025. The company reported total revenues of $689 million, a figure that did not meet the projections set by market analysts. Goldman Sachs anticipated product revenue of $692 million, while FactSet’s consensus estimate was slightly higher at $698 million.
The reported revenue comprised $587 million generated from sales of Syfovre, targeting geographic atrophy indications, and $102 million from Empaveli across its approved use cases. This performance prompted several financial firms to reassess their rating and outlook for Apellis shares.
Bank of America Securities upgraded Apellis from a Neutral stance to a Buy rating. This upgrade was primarily based on the promising commercial adoption of Empaveli, especially in rare kidney disease segments such as C3G/IC-MPGN, evidenced by 267 new patient start forms filed.
Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight recommendation on Apellis despite revising its price target lower, decreasing it from $39.00 to $35.00. Their analysis highlighted Empaveli's market performance surpassing that of competitor Fabhalta.
Meanwhile, Needham kept a Buy rating but adjusted its price target downward to $28.00. This revision was attributed to uncertainties surrounding the growth rate of Syfovre sales. On the other hand, Goldman Sachs reiterated a Sell rating with a price target of $19.00, citing the company's failure to meet revenue expectations as a critical factor.