SLS Stock Hits Over 5-Year High: Retail Traders Bet Big On Breaking $25 As AML Readout Looms

Recently updated change-of-control terms also fueled buyout chatter by outlining executive payouts and full equity acceleration related to a change in control.

• A Stocktwits poll showed that 74% of about 3,600 voters expect SLS to reach $25 or higher within 12 months.
• Bulls are focused on the Phase 3 Regal trial in AML, which has reached 78 of the 80 events needed for final analysis.
• CEO Angelos Stergiou has called the slower event accumulation a positive signal, suggesting patients may be living longer than expected.

Shares of Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) hit their highest level in over five years on Monday as retail traders showed strong confidence in the stock’s 12-month upside ahead of the company’s closely watched acute myeloid leukemia (AML) trial readout.

SLS stock jumped 25% on Monday to close at $15.45, extending its winning streak to eight sessions, its longest in more than a year. Shares are also up over 1% overnight late Monday. 

Retail Sees Over 60% Upside In SLS

In a Stocktwits retail poll asking traders for their 12-month price target, 74% of users said that they expected the stock to hit $25 or higher, implying at least over a 60% upside from current levels. The poll had drawn about 3,600 votes at the time of writing, with 10% expecting the stock to trade in the range of $20 to $24.99, 7% seeing $15 to $19.99 range and only 9% forecasting a level below $15.

Notably, sentiment on Stocktwits for SLS has jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ levels a week ago amid a whopping 600% surge in message volumes over the past 24 hours. The ticker’s watcher base has also risen 3.2% in a month, indicating steady growth of retail interest in the stock.

One user expects a “Buyout in 2026. $45-210 range.” Meanwhile, another user laid out their trading strategy, saying, “My price target is $30 upon the announcement of positive results for Regal. A bidding war will follow; I don't think Merck will let Keytruda go. They will try to save and maintain their $28.5 billion portfolio by acquiring Sellas. I think it's easily worth $35 billion to $40 billion… I would exit my position between $95 and $135.”

SLS Regal Trial Nears Finish Line

At the center of the bullish case is Sellas’ Phase 3 Regal trial of GPS, or galinpepimut-S, in AML. The study has reached 78 of the 80 events required to trigger its final analysis, putting investors closer to one of the most important readouts in the company’s history.

CEO Angelos Stergiou has called the slower-than-expected event accumulation an encouraging sign. “Crucially, the delay in reaching this 80th event is a profoundly positive signal—it suggests patients are living longer than projected. GPS has the potential to become the true standard of care in AML maintenance,” he said in a LinkedIn post recently. Sellas has previously said that the trial would be considered successful if GPS extends median overall survival to 12.6 months from 8 months under standard treatment.

SLS Rally Fuels Buyout Chatter

Stergiou recently noted that Sellas’ market cap had grown from $73 million at the start of 2024 to more than $1.5 billion by mid-2026. The company ended the first quarter with $107.1 million in cash and raised another $28.7 million through warrant exercises in April and May, giving it added flexibility ahead of a catalyst-heavy period.

Additionally, shareholders recently approved a 20 million-share increase to Sellas’ 2023 Equity Incentive Plan, while Stergiou was awarded 1.065 million restricted stock units that vest over four years, bringing his ownership to 1.76 million shares after the grant. 

Sellas also updated executive severance and change-of-control arrangements, fueling intensified buyout chatter among retail investors. Stergiou’s amended agreement shifts certain change-of-control severance payments to a lump sum, while CFO John Burns and chief development officer Dragan Cicic would receive 15 months of base salary, target bonus payments, COBRA reimbursement and full equity acceleration under qualifying change-of-control terminations. 

Beyond Regal, investors are also watching SLS009, Sellas’ Phase 2 CDK9 inhibitor for AML. The company expects topline data from its frontline AML trial later this year.

SLS stock has surged 692% over the past year. 

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