Wall Street Analysts Are Downgrading These 5 Stocks

03. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) is facing ongoing safety concerns about its vision loss drug Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), causing the stock to drop around 6% on August 1. BofA Securities downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) on the same day from “Buy” to “Neutral” due to uncertainty about reports of eye inflammation and reduced the price target to $40 from $114. According to BofA analyst Tazeen Ahmad, doctors might wait a few quarters before using the drug due to concerns about occlusive retinal vasculitis cases. This has led Ahmad to lower her sales forecasts for Syfovre: $40 million and $30 million for Q3 and Q4 respectively, and $159 million for 2024, down from the previous estimate of $393 million. She has also revised the estimated peak sales from $6 billion to $2.5 billion. Meanwhile, Baird maintains an “Outperform” rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) but has reduced the price target to $70 from $115, indicating a potential upside of about 172%. These changes reflect the complex factors that influence a pharmaceutical company’s performance and market perception.