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Alto Neuroscience , Inc. (NYSE:ANRO), a biotech company whose stock has declined nearly 80% over the past year according to InvestingPro data, announced that its Board of Directors approved a repricing of certain employee and consultant stock options, effective at the close of market on Thursday. According to a press release statement and a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the repricing applies to options granted under the company’s 2019 and 2024 Equity Incentive Plans that had exercise prices above $2.35 per share.
The new exercise price for eligible options is $2.35 per share, which was the closing price of Alto Neuroscience’s common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on the effective date. The repricing covers a total of 4,225,763 shares. Options held by non-employee directors are not included in this adjustment.
Among those affected are Dr. Amit Etkin, President and Chief Executive Officer, who holds options to purchase 719,910 shares with original exercise prices ranging from $4.20 to $14.88; Nicholas Smith, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer, with options for 506,124 shares; and Michael Hanley, Chief Operating Officer, with 321,000 shares. All of these options originally had exercise prices above $2.35.
To exercise repriced options at the reduced rate, participants must remain with the company through a defined retention period. If an eligible participant exercises options before the end of this period, they must pay the original exercise price. There are no changes to the number of shares, vesting schedules, or expiration dates for the repriced options.
The retention period lasts for twelve months from the effective date, or ends sooner in the event of a qualifying termination or a change in control if the options are not assumed by a successor.
The board’s decision followed consultation with an independent compensation consultant. The company stated in its SEC filing that nearly all employee and consultant options were “underwater,” meaning their exercise prices exceeded the current market price.
This information is based on a press release statement and details disclosed in the company’s SEC filing.
In other recent news, Alto Neuroscience has announced plans to advance its depression drug, ALTO-207, into a Phase 2b trial by mid-2026. This decision follows promising results from a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry, which showed significant symptom reduction when pramipexole was added to existing antidepressant treatments. The company aims to mitigate the adverse effects typically associated with pramipexole by combining it with ondansetron. Meanwhile, H.C. Wainwright has reiterated its buy rating on Alto Neuroscience, maintaining a $10.00 price target after the release of top-line data from a Phase 2 trial of ALTO-203. This trial identified an EEG-based biomarker predicting patient response, potentially paving the way for a new treatment in a challenging symptom domain. William Blair also maintained its outperform rating despite mixed results, suggesting alternative patient populations may benefit from ALTO-203. Stifel, maintaining its buy rating, noted improvements in attention and wakefulness in patients treated with ALTO-203, particularly those with abnormal EEG ratios. Alto Neuroscience plans to present further findings at a future medical meeting and will decide on the next steps for ALTO-203 after a full analysis of the trial data.
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