Forte Biosciences Stock More Than Doubles On Oversubscribed $53M Private Placement: Retail Goes Wild

Forte Biosciences Inc. ($FBRX) saw its stock skyrocket by more than 150% on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the top gainer across U.S. markets. 

Trading volume surged to 19.2 million shares — approximately 1,800 times its daily average — as the stock hit levels last seen over six months ago. 

FBRX also ranked among the top 10 trending symbols on Stocktwits, with retail sentiment reaching a year’s high.

The surge followed Forte’s announcement of an oversubscribed $53 million equity financing, led by high-profile institutional investors including OrbiMed, Janus Henderson Investors, and Tybourne Capital Management. 

The funds will support clinical development of FB102, Forte’s proprietary anti-CD122 monoclonal antibody targeting autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases.

“This financing by high quality institutional investors is transformative for Forte and highlights the meaningful potential for FB102,” said Forte CEO Paul Wagner. 

He reiterated that the company’s celiac disease trial is underway, with topline results expected by the second quarter of next year. 

Forte also plans to expand FB102 into additional indications over the next year, setting up 2025 as a milestone-heavy period for the biopharma company.

The company said it will host an R&D Day on Dec. 3 to provide further updates. 

FBRX remains down nearly 25% year-to-date. 

FBRX sentiment and message volume on Nov 20 as of 12:00 pm ET | source: Stocktwits

Retail investors on Stocktwits were exuberant, driving sentiment to ‘extremely bullish’ (97/100), the highest score since September, and message volume (90/100) to a one-year peak.

 

Forte last week reported a third-quarter adjusted loss of $4.54 per share, better than analysts’ expectations of a $7.12 loss, despite generating no revenue. 

The fresh financing positions the company to advance FB102, which it views as a potentially broad-application therapeutic for autoimmune disorders.