Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Common Stock (APLS)

FairStock Score: 12/100 — RISKY

Key Financials

Current Price$41.03
Market Cap$5.2B
P/E Ratio38.35
ROE46.02%
Dividend Yield—%
SectorHealthcare

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I approach Apellis as a commercial-stage biotechnology company, not a classic Buffett franchise. It sells EMPAVELI and SYFOVRE, but the figures show a business that has only recently turned profitable and is now shrinking. In the latest reported quarter, 2026-Q1, revenue was $268.3M and net income was $18.7M, a 6.95% margin. That is thin for a biotech with product concentration. The supplied growth figures show revenue growth of -5.94% and profit growth of -62.16%. Trailing free cash flow is only $37.5M, a 0.7% FCF yield on the $5.2B market cap. At the 2026-05-15 close of $41.03, FairStock calculations put the P/E at 38.35, P/B at 12.66, EV/EBITDA at 29.42, and ROE at 46.02%. The high ROE is not enough for me when ROCE is 10.93% and debt/equity is 1.15. The Graham Number is $8.83, leaving a margin of safety of -364.67%—in plain terms, the price is far above a conservative asset-based value. Piotroski is 5/9 and Altman Z-score 1.98, so financial strength is middling. The 52-week range is $16.83 to $41.14, and the stock sits near the high. I see no durable moat in these numbers; biotech economics depend on patents, trials, reimbursement, and competition, none of which is visible in the provided data. The negative beta of -0.25 may appeal to some, but I prefer a margin of safety. This is a speculative commercial-stage story, not a Graham bargain.

In plain English: The company makes medicines for rare blood and eye diseases, including EMPAVELI and SYFOVRE. In the latest reported quarter, 2026-Q1, it reported $268.3M of revenue and a small $18.7M profit, but the supplied growth figures show sales and profit shrinking. At $41.03, the stock looks expensive compared with its earnings and accounting value.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-05-15 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer