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Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (APLS) Up 9.2% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (APLS - Free Report) . Shares have added about 9.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Apellis’ Q3 Loss Wider Than Expected, Syfovre Drives Sales

Apellis reported third-quarter 2023 loss of $1.17 per share, which was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 84 cents. The company had reported a loss of $1.75 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Total revenues amounted to $110.4 million in the third quarter, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $101 million. In the year-ago quarter, the company had reported revenues of $22.1 million. The top line jumped almost 400% year over year owing to higher sales of Syfovre (pegcetacoplan injection) in the reported quarter.

Quarter in Detail

Revenues in the reported quarter included product sales of the marketed drugs — Empaveli (pegcetacoplan) and Syfovre — and licensing and other revenues under the collaboration agreement with Sobi.

Syfovre recorded sales of $75.3 million in the third quarter, up around 12% sequentially.

Apellis delivered more than 37,000 commercial vials and nearly 10,000 samples of Syfovre to doctors in the third quarter. As of Oct 5, 2023, the total number of vials of the drug delivered since launch was reportedly more than 100,000.

Empaveli recorded sales of $23.9 million in the reported quarter, up 35% from the year-ago quarter’s figure owing to the increasing number of patient switches from AstraZeneca’s Ultomiris (ravulizumab).

Licensing and other revenues came in at $11.2 million, up 154.5% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Research and development expenses decreased 16.6% to $79.4 million from the prior-year quarter’s level. This was due to a decrease in contract manufacturing expenses and lower personnel-related as well as other developmental costs.

General and administrative expenses totaled $145.6 million, up 85.7% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. This was driven by higher employee-related costs and an increase in professional and consulting fees.

As of Sep 30, 2023, Apellis had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities worth $452.4 million compared with $616.3 million as of Jun 30, 2023. APLS expects its cash balance, combined with cash anticipated to be generated from sales of marketed products as well as Sobi reimbursements, to fund its operations into the second quarter of 2025.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in estimates revision.

VGM Scores

At this time, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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