Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RXRX) saw its stock price climb on Thursday, bucking a modest downturn in the broader market. Shares of the Salt Lake City-based drug developer closed at $3.80, up 3.54%, before edging slightly lower to $3.79 in after-hours trading. The session was marked by unusually heavy trading volume, with 32.65 million shares changing hands—approximately 194% of the stock's 65-day average.
The upward move came despite the filing of a Form 144 by Christopher Gibson, a former director, on July 2, indicating his intention to sell 100,000 shares valued at roughly $374,500. This planned sale represents just 0.3% of Thursday's trading volume and a mere 0.019% of the company's 524.7 million outstanding shares. Gibson, who stepped down from the board in June but remains as a strategic advisor, has now filed to sell a total of 740,440 shares since early April, with gross proceeds of approximately $2.50 million.
Two other directors, Zavain Dar and Dean Li, also filed Form 4s on July 2, each receiving stock grants under the company's compensation policy for outside board members. Dar received 5,109 shares and Li received 3,747 shares, both at no cost, rather than through open-market purchases.
The stock's gain occurred without any new clinical data releases; the last press release from Recursion's website dates back to June 2. The recent filings, including two Form 4s and two Form 144s over the past two days, have been the primary corporate actions.
Short interest in Recursion remains a significant factor. According to data from the Wall Street Journal, as of June 15, 184.02 million shares were sold short, representing 39.11% of the float. This short position is equivalent to 5.6 times Thursday's total trading volume, suggesting that even a strong up day does not necessarily indicate short covering. The next short interest report, covering the June 30 settlement date, is scheduled for release on July 10, leaving investors with only the June 15 figures during the holiday-shortened week.
Recursion's cash position and clinical timeline continue to be key narratives for investors. The company reported $665.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of March 31, with a net loss of $117.5 million and net cash used in operations of $81.1 million in the first quarter. Management has guided that the cash runway extends into early 2028. CEO Najat Khan highlighted on the May earnings call that the wholly owned pipeline is expected to deliver "multiple clinical readouts over the next 12 to 18 months," while CFO Ben Taylor reiterated the company's commitment to keeping cash operating expenses below $390 million.
In the broader market context, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) rose 2.49% to $160.46, and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 2.95% to $195.70, indicating a positive session for the biotech sector. In contrast, the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 1.70% to $712.60, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) slipped 0.11% to $744.78.
