2023-12-26 00:13:25
Biotechnology stocks have risen sharply in 2023, and some company CEOs have also taken the opportunity to buy up their own shares. For example, CEOs of companies such as Cibus, OmniAb and Liquidia have spent millions of dollars to increase their company holdings.
These three companies are small, with a market capitalization of less than US$1 billion, but their stock gains in 2023 have crushed those that rose only 24% in the same period. S&P 500 The index is challenging this year’s hottest “Magnificent 7” (seven major technology stocks).
Agricultural biotechnology company Cibus (CBUS-US) has a projected increase of 141% so far this year. The proposed increase is due to the fact that its predecessor, Calyxt, reverse split its stock 1:5 on June 1 to complete the merger with Cibus. The merged listed company will adopt the latter name.
Cibus, which specializes in research, development and licensing of plant gene editing, issued 2.1 million shares at $9 per share earlier this month and provided pre-financing warrants to purchase up to 50,000 shares. Cibus estimates that the total proceeds from this offering will reach $20.3 million (before deducting certain expenses and exercising warrants). The company will use the proceeds to further develop new or existing seed genes, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes. use.
Cibus co-founder, CEO and chairman Rory Riggs paid $5.5 million on December 12 to purchase 517,107 shares in the offering, at $10.58 per share, higher than the issue price of $9. He also paid $528,500 to buy out all 50,000 pre-financing warrants, at a price of $10.57 per share.
According to his filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he currently owns 1.6 million shares of the company personally and holds another 1.1 million shares indirectly through joint ownership and other entities.
Riggs said that due to regulatory requirements, he must purchase Cibus shares at market price when the offering price is lower. He estimates that combined stock and equivalents, his ownership of the company is about 15%, making him and Fidelity Collective Account the two largest shareholders in Cibus.
Riggs said the company aims to improve farmer productivity and said Cibus is to agriculture what Tesla is to the automotive industry.
The last time he bought his own stock on June 1, he bought 1,000 shares for $31,500, with an average price of $31.50 per share.
Transgenic animal platform company OmniAb (OABI-US), which aims to modify animal genes to develop drug candidates for human therapies, was spun off from Ligand Pharmaceuticals more than a year ago, and its stock price has risen more than 61% so far this year.
CEO Matt Foehr paid $1 million to buy 200,000 shares of OmniAb on December 12, with an average price of $5.05 per share. He currently owns 2.6 million shares of the company, as well as restricted stock units and stock options.
Last time, he purchased 95,000 shares of his own stock for US$405,500 in November, with an average price of US$4.27 per share.
Foehr said his purchase of his own stock reflected “my confidence in our team and our technology.”
Biopharmaceutical company Liquidia (LQDA-US) shares have soared 85% year to date. Liquidia specializes in developing products for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. It publicly issued 3.5 million shares on December 12 at a price of US$7.16 per share, and Liquidia CEO Roger Jeffs paid US$1 million to buy 139,665 shares.
Liquidia expects to generate earnings before costs of $25 million, which will be used for treatment development and clinical trials and general corporate purposes.
Jeffs now holds 640,805 shares of the company in his personal account, another 46,595 shares in a trust, and another 1.5 million shares in an LLC.
Jeffs also made a large purchase of his own company’s shares last September, when he bought 43,820 shares for $244,000, with an average price of $5.57 per share. Liquidia did not respond to a request for comment.
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