Absci prices $50 million public offering of common stock

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI), currently valued at $447 million in market capitalization, has priced an underwritten public offering of 16,670,000 shares of its common stock at $3.00 per share, the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company announced on Thursday. The stock has shown strong momentum recently, delivering a 12.5% return over the past week.

The offering, expected to close today, aims to raise approximately $50 million in gross proceeds before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and offering expenses. Absci has also granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,500,500 shares on the same terms. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a healthy balance sheet with more cash than debt, though it has been rapidly depleting its cash reserves.

Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, and TD Cowen are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The company, which focuses on developing therapeutics designed with generative AI, plans to use the net proceeds to fund advancement of its internally developed programs, continue investment in its Integrated Drug Creation platform, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. With a current ratio of 5.72, the company’s liquid assets comfortably exceed its short-term obligations, though analysts don’t expect profitability this year. Get deeper insights into Absci’s financial health and access 10+ additional ProTips with InvestingPro.

The shares are being offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 24, 2022 and became effective on September 2, 2022.

Absci combines AI with wet lab technologies to develop biologics. The company maintains its headquarters in Vancouver, Washington, with an AI Research Lab in New York City and an Innovation Center in Zug, Switzerland. Analyst price targets for the stock range from $7 to $13, suggesting potential upside from current levels, though the stock currently trades above InvestingPro’s Fair Value estimate.

The information in this article is based on a press release statement from Absci Corporation.

In other recent news, Absci Corp announced a $50 million public offering of common stock shares, granting underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional $7.5 million worth of shares. All shares in this proposed offering will be sold by Absci. Additionally, the company has appointed Mary Szela to its board of directors. Ms. Szela, who brings significant experience from her tenure at Abbott Laboratories, will serve as a Class III director until the 2027 annual meeting of stockholders. She will receive stock options and an annual cash retainer as part of her compensation. In another development, Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage on Absci with an Overweight rating and a $7.00 price target. This comes as the company anticipates a potential value inflection point with its lead asset, TL1A monoclonal antibody ABS-101. The interim data from its Phase 1 study is expected in the second half of 2025.

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