Apellis (NASDAQ: APLS) CEO boosts direct stake via option exercise

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer Cedric Francois reported an option exercise and related share acquisition. On 02/03/2026, a fully vested stock option for 8,840 shares of common stock was exercised at $3.76 per share, increasing his directly held common stock to 490,837 shares.

The filing also lists additional common stock positions held indirectly through several trusts, including The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023, The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2, The Francois Grossi Trust, and The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust, where he disclaims beneficial ownership except to the extent of any pecuniary interest.

Insider Trade Summary

8,840 shares exercised/converted

Mixed 6 txns

Insider Francois Cedric

Role Chief Executive Officer

Type	Security	Shares	Price	Value
Exercise	Stock Option (Right to Buy)	8,840	$0.00	--
Exercise	Common Stock	8,840	$3.76	$33K
holding	Common Stock	--	--	--
holding	Common Stock	--	--	--
holding	Common Stock	--	--	--
holding	Common Stock	--	--	--

Holdings After Transaction: Stock Option (Right to Buy) — 0 shares (Direct); Common Stock — 490,837 shares (Direct); Common Stock — 307,946 shares (Indirect, Indirect Owner (The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2))

Footnotes (1)

1. The securities are held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2. William V. A. Zorn is the trustee of The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2 except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein. The securities are held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023. William V. A. Zorn is the trustee of The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein. The securities are held by The Francois Grossi Trust, for which Juliana Grossi, the spouse of the reporting person, serves as trustee. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by the Francois Grossi Trust except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein. The securities are held by The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust, for which the Fiduciary Trust Company of New England serves as trustee. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein. This option was granted on February 8, 2016 and fully vested.

Form 4 Insider Transactions: What Each Field Means →

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL

OMB Number:			3235-0287
Estimated average burden
hours per response:			0.5

Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

Check this box to indicate that a transaction was made pursuant to a contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of equity securities of the issuer that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c). See Instruction 10.

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Francois Cedric

(Last) (First) (Middle)

C/O APELLIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

100 FIFTH AVENUE, 3RD FLOOR

(Street)

WALTHAM MA 02451

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. [ APLS ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

X	Director		10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)		Other (specify below)
	Chief Executive Officer

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
02/03/2026

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	02/03/2026		M		8,840	A	$3.76	490,837	D
Common Stock								307,946	I(1)	Indirect Owner (The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2)
Common Stock								472,065	I(2)	Indirect Owner (The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023)
Common Stock								300,000	I(3)	Indirect Owner (The Francois Grossi Trust)
Common Stock								234,411	I(4)	Indirect Owner (The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust)

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$3.76	02/03/2026		M			8,840	(5)	02/06/2026	Common Stock	8,840	$0	0	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. The securities are held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2. William V. A. Zorn is the trustee of The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 - 2 except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

2. The securities are held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023. William V. A. Zorn is the trustee of The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by The Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trust of 2023 except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

3. The securities are held by The Francois Grossi Trust, for which Juliana Grossi, the spouse of the reporting person, serves as trustee. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by the Francois Grossi Trust except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

4. The securities are held by The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust, for which the Fiduciary Trust Company of New England serves as trustee. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership over the shares held by The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

5. This option was granted on February 8, 2016 and fully vested.

	/s/ David Watson, attorney-in-fact for Cedric Francois	02/05/2026
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.

FAQ

What insider transaction did Apellis (APLS) report for CEO Cedric Francois?

Apellis reported that CEO Cedric Francois exercised a stock option for 8,840 shares of common stock on February 3, 2026 at $3.76 per share. This transaction converted previously granted options into directly owned Apellis common stock.

How many Apellis (APLS) shares does CEO Cedric Francois now hold directly?

Following the February 3, 2026 option exercise, Cedric Francois directly holds 490,837 shares of Apellis common stock. This reflects the addition of 8,840 shares acquired through the exercise of a fully vested stock option originally granted in 2016.

What happened to the exercised stock option in the Apellis (APLS) Form 4?

The Form 4 shows a stock option with an exercise price of $3.76 covering 8,840 shares was exercised on February 3, 2026. After the transaction, zero derivative securities remained from that option position, indicating the option was fully exercised.

What indirect Apellis (APLS) share holdings are associated with Cedric Francois?

The filing lists indirect holdings of Apellis common stock through several trusts, including two Cedric Francois Irrevocable Trusts, The Francois Grossi Trust, and The Francois-DuBois Educational Trust. Francois disclaims beneficial ownership of these shares except for any pecuniary interest.

Does the Apellis (APLS) Form 4 indicate any sales of common stock by Cedric Francois?

The Form 4 reports an option exercise (code M) and the related acquisition of 8,840 shares of common stock at $3.76 per share. It does not list any sale transactions of Apellis common stock in the reported activity.

What is the role of Cedric Francois at Apellis (APLS) in this Form 4?

Cedric Francois is identified as both a director and the Chief Executive Officer of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Form 4 records his direct option exercise and details share positions associated with trusts where he has a pecuniary interest but disclaims full beneficial ownership.