David O. Watson, General Counsel of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS), a biopharmaceutical company with a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, reported selling 2,201 shares of the company's common stock on January 17, 2025. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.9582, amounting to a total transaction value of $65,937. Following this sale, Watson holds 105,555 shares directly. According to InvestingPro analysis, APLS stock has shown strong momentum with an 8.11% return over the past week.
In a separate transaction on January 21, 2025, Watson was awarded 42,762 restricted stock units. These units vest 25% annually over four years, contingent on continued service with the company. This award did not involve any cash transaction. InvestingPro data shows the company maintains a healthy financial position with liquid assets exceeding short-term obligations by 4.36x, suggesting strong financial stability.
Watson also holds shares indirectly through various trusts and custodial accounts. These include 3,333 shares in a custodial account for his son, 70,136 shares in The David O. Watson Irrevocable Trust of 2023, and 6,667 shares in The Watson Education Trust. Watson disclaims beneficial ownership of these shares, except to the extent of his pecuniary interest. Based on InvestingPro's Fair Value analysis, APLS currently appears undervalued, with additional insights available in the comprehensive Pro Research Report covering this and 1,400+ other US stocks.
In other recent news, Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported full-year 2024 U.S. net product revenues of around $709 million, a growth trajectory of 162% over the last twelve months. The company's lead products, SYFOVRE® and EMPAVELI®, generated $611 million and $98 million in net revenues respectively. These developments indicate continuous sales growth for the current year, as suggested by InvestingPro data.
Apellis is also preparing for the submission of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for EMPAVELI® for the treatment of rare kidney diseases C3G and primary IC-MPGN. The company plans to initiate Phase 3 studies for pegcetacoplan in two other nephrology indications in the latter half of 2025. In addition, organizational changes have been announced, with David Acheson succeeding Adam Townsend as Executive Vice President of Commercial.
Analyst notes from Jefferies and RBC Capital Markets suggest a reassessment of the market outlook for Apellis' eye drug, Syfovre, due to FDA's acceptance of a revised supplemental application from competitor Astellas Pharma. Despite this, Jefferies maintains a buy rating for Syfovre. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has initiated coverage on Apellis with an Equalweight rating, predicting over $600 million in revenue approximately two years post-launch of Syfovre, while Goldman Sachs revised its rating for Apellis from Buy to Neutral. These are the recent developments for Apellis Pharmaceuticals.
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