NEW YORK, June 26, 2026, 10:07 (EDT)
- SELLAS Life Sciences was up 6.3% at $11.19 after reaching $11.29. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF gained 1.8%.
- A Form 8-K filed June 25 updated the change-of-control severance terms for senior executives.
- Short interest stood at 63.36 million shares, or 32.65% of float, as of June 15. FINRA said off-exchange short-sale volume was 52.68% on June 25.
- REGAL’s latest update from the company said the AML trial had reached 78 of the 80 events needed for the final analysis.
SELLAS Life Sciences Group (NASDAQ:SLS) climbed 6.3% to $11.19 in early trade Friday, reaching as high as $11.29. The stock outpaced the broader biotech sector, with State Street’s SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA:XBI) gaining 1.8%.
SLS volume jumped Thursday, trading 15.11 million shares on June 25, close to double its 65-day average of 7.57 million. The stock closed at $10.53 after reaching $11.06, according to FactSet data from the Wall Street Journal.
SELLAS (NASDAQ: SLS) filed a Form 8-K signed June 25 that focused on executive pay. The biotech said CEO Angelos Stergiou is getting certain change-of-control severance payments in a lump sum. Agreements with CFO John Burns and chief development officer Dragan Cicic were also amended and restated. Under a qualifying termination in a change-of-control period, each exec would get 15 months of base pay, target bonus, up to 18 months of COBRA reimbursement, and all unvested equity would vest.
SELLAS said in the filing it only covered compensation deals and related exhibits. The board signed off on the agreements after looking at market and competitive trends for executive severance, working with an outside compensation consultant.
This is key since the stock was already heavily shorted. MarketBeat showed 63,360,925 shares sold short as of June 15, which was 32.65% of the float. The days-to-cover ratio stood at 9.3. At $11.19, that put the short interest around $709 million.
Short interest in SLS stayed big on Thursday’s breakout. Fintel’s FINRA off-exchange table showed 4,486,613 shares marked short on June 25, making up 52.68% of the FINRA off-exchange volume. According to Fintel, the table uses FINRA off-exchange numbers and misses other venues.
SELLAS’ numbers add up quickly. The company reported $107.1 million in cash at March 31, plus $28.7 million more from warrant proceeds in April and May. Shares outstanding totaled 196.6 million as of June 2. With shares at $11.19, the market cap stood near $2.20 billion. Cash and proceeds came to roughly $0.69 per share before factoring in any spending after March 31.
The gap is what shapes the trade’s risk now. Shares are trading far above cash. The setup is driven by an AML catalyst and a short base.
REGAL is the key clinical event. SELLAS reported on May 12 that 78 patients in its Phase 3 GPS study in acute myeloid leukemia had died as of May 11. The company said final analysis will be done after the 80th death. “The coming results will be an important milestone for the Company,” CEO Stergiou said. Sellas Life Sciences
SELLAS has another AML program in the works. The company said it began an 80-patient Phase 2 study of SLS009 in newly diagnosed AML. Topline data is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Analyst targets are lagging the stock. WSJ/FactSet showed two buys and an average target of $10, less than SLS was trading for Friday morning.
