Apellis Lead Drug Pegcetacoplan Represents Differentiated Asset: JP Morgan Analyst

Last week, Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc APLS reported a fourth-quarter earnings loss of 29 cents per share, beating the consensus loss of 37 cents. Sales increased 45.2% to $212.5 million, beating the consensus of $198.35 million.

JP Morgan maintains the Overweight rating with a price forecast of $54.

Analyst Anupam Rama says Apellis’ lead asset, pegcetacoplan (Syfovre/Empaveli), represents a differentiated asset in the complement space, with opportunities across ophthalmology, hematology, neurology, and nephrology indications.

Also Read: Syfovre’s Competitive Edge Highlights Bright Future For Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Analyst Initiates With Bullish Pitch

The company generated Syfovre sales of $167.8 million and $611.9 million for the fourth quarter and full year 2024, respectively.

Delivered approximately 94,000 Syfovre doses to physician practices in the fourth quarter, including approximately 89,000 commercial vials and 4,600 samples. More than 510,000 Syfovre injections, including clinical trials, are estimated to have been administered since launch through December 2024.

JP Morgan views Syfovre as an over $1.5 billion peak potential drug, even with conservative assumptions.

“Overall, physicians continue to use the product, driving growth, and we anticipate a fundamental and sentiment shift driving upside in APLS shares,” the analyst writes.

Analyst Rama also expects that the Empaveli C3 glomerulopathy and primary immune complex glomerulonephritis (C3G/IC-MPGN) opportunity will be a driver for Apellis stock. The company has submitted a supplemental marketing application for approval of Empaveli based on Phase 3 VALIANT results at six months; if approved, a U.S. launch is expected in 2H 2025.

Price Action: APLS stock is up 3.27% at $25.87 at the last check Wednesday.

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