The shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS) are up more than 50% over the past year and over 32% so far in 2023. The company's lead treatment is Empaveli (pegcetacoplan), used to treat adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare disease that kills red blood cells. What's driving the stock's rise is that another version of the drug could be a blockbuster.

On Feb. 17, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved that version, Syfovre, to treat geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

Several analysts upgraded their price targets for Apellis based on the news. Wedbush bumped up the stock's price target to $51 from $47, Stifel maintained a buy rating and bumped up the target from $65 to $75, Baird maintained an outperform rating and raised the target from $90 to $105, and Citigroup maintained its buy rating and raised its target from $86 to $91.

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Source Fool.com