Despite the fact that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:APLS) value has dropped 12% in the last week insiders who sold US$7.3m worth of stock in the past 12 months have had less success. Insiders would probably have been better off holding on to their shares given that the average selling price of US$62.01 is still lower than the current share price.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Co-Founder, Cedric Francois, sold US$873k worth of shares at a price of US$65.00 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$26.27. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Apellis Pharmaceuticals insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insiders At Apellis Pharmaceuticals Have Sold Stock Recently

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals, over the last three months. VP, Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer James Chopas divested only US$29k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.

Insider Ownership Of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Apellis Pharmaceuticals insiders own 3.4% of the company, worth about US$117m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Apellis Pharmaceuticals Insiders?

Our data shows a little more insider selling, but no insider buying, in the last three months. But the sales were small, so we're not concerned. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Apellis Pharmaceuticals insiders selling. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Apellis Pharmaceuticals and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Apellis Pharmaceuticals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.