Cue Biopharma Announces Pricing of $10 Million Public Offering
Rhea-AI Summary
Cue Biopharma (Nasdaq: CUE) announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering to raise approximately $10 million in gross proceeds.
The offering consists of 35,714,286 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu) sold together with accompanying common stock warrants to purchase 17,857,143 shares at a combined public offering price of $0.28 per unit (pre-funded warrant units at $0.279). Each warrant has a $0.30 exercise price, is exercisable immediately, and expires five years from issuance.
The offering is expected to close on or about December 22, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, and underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,357,140 shares and/or warrants to purchase 2,678,570 shares.
Positive
- Gross proceeds of approximately $10,000,000 expected
- Warrants exercisable immediately with five-year term
- Underwriter option provides up to 30-day additional supply
Negative
- Share issuance of 35,714,286 shares will dilute existing shareholders
- Warrants outstanding for 17,857,143 shares add potential future dilution
- Low offering price of $0.28 per unit may pressure market valuation
News Market Reaction 16 Alerts
On the day this news was published, CUE declined 21.58%, reflecting a significant negative market reaction. Argus tracked a trough of -6.6% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 16 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $7M from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $27M at that time. Trading volume was exceptionally heavy at 6.9x the daily average, suggesting significant selling pressure.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
Key biotech peers like ACET (-1.63%), PDSB (-2.73%), and ALXO (-4.73%) are modestly lower, but CUE’s -14.5% move is significantly larger, indicating a company-specific reaction to the offering terms.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18 | Equity offering plan | Negative | -14.5% | Proposed underwritten equity and warrant offering announcement. |
| Nov 13 | Licensing collaboration | Positive | -7.2% | Exclusive in-licensing deal for next-gen solid tumor cell therapy. |
| Nov 12 | Earnings and update | Neutral | -2.3% | Q3 2025 results plus ImmunoScape collaboration and clinical data. |
| Nov 06 | Strategic collaboration | Positive | -2.4% | Collaboration and license for CUE-100 Series oncology programs. |
| Sep 29 | Leadership transition | Positive | +1.3% | New CEO appointed to drive autoimmune-focused growth strategy. |
CUE has often traded lower on positive strategic news and proposed offerings, with notable downside on the latest financing announcement.
Over recent months, Cue Biopharma has combined strategic collaborations, leadership changes, and repeated equity offerings. The Nov 2025 ImmunoScape collaboration and Q3 results added non-dilutive cash and encouraging clinical data but still saw modest share declines. A leadership transition on Sep 29 generated only a small uptick. The Dec 18 proposed offering triggered a sharp -14.5% reaction, and today’s pricing announcement builds directly on that financing path, reinforcing dilution concerns against a backdrop of going-concern disclosures in recent filings.
Market Pulse Summary
The stock dropped -21.6% in the session following this news. The decline reflects market sensitivity to dilution after Cue Biopharma priced 35,714,286 shares plus 17,857,143 warrants at $0.28 per unit, below the prior $0.342 trading level. This fits a pattern where financing and going-concern disclosures weighed on sentiment. With prior offerings and tight liquidity already documented in recent filings, investors could have focused on share overhang from units and the additional underwriters’ 30-day option when reassessing risk.
Key Terms
underwritten public offering financial
pre-funded warrants financial
common stock warrants financial
exercise price financial
shelf registration statement regulatory
Form S-3 regulatory
prospectus supplement regulatory
book-running manager financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cue Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of therapeutic biologics to selectively engage and modulate disease-specific T cells for the treatment of autoimmune disease, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 35,714,286 shares of its common stock (or pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of common stock in lieu thereof) and accompanying common stock warrants to purchase an aggregate of 17,857,143 shares of common stock. Each share of common stock (or pre-funded warrant to purchase shares of common stock in lieu thereof) and accompanying common stock warrant are being sold together at a combined public offering price of
H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering. Newbridge Securities Corporation is acting as co-manager for the offering.
The securities are being offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-271786) that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 9, 2023, and declared effective on May 26, 2023. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus that form a part of the registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering have been filed with the SEC and may be obtained for free by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC. When available, copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained by contacting: H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (212) 856-5711 or e-mail at placements@hcwco.com.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Cue Biopharma
Cue Biopharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is developing a novel class of injectable biologics to selectively engage and modulate disease-specific T cells directly within the patient’s body. The company’s proprietary platform, Immuno-STAT® (Selective Targeting and Alteration of T cells), and biologics are designed to harness the curative potential of the body’s intrinsic immune system without the adverse effects of broad systemic immune modulation.
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, we are led by an experienced management team with deep expertise in immunology and protein engineering as well as the design and clinical development of protein biologics.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding: the public offering, including the satisfaction of customary closing conditions relating to the offering, the expected closing of the public offering, and the underwriters’ option to purchase additional securities. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the company’s future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “strategy,” “future,” “vision,” “should,” ‘‘target”, “will,” “would,” “likely” or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Cue Biopharma may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in its forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on its forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements Cue Biopharma makes as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the public offering, Cue Biopharma’s limited operating history, limited cash and a history of losses, Cue Biopharma’s ability to achieve profitability, Cue Biopharma’s ability to obtain adequate financing to fund its business operations in the near-term, Cue Biopharma’s ability to successfully remediate its current “going concern” determination that it does not have sufficient capital on hand to continue operations beyond the next twelve months, Cue Biopharma’s reliance on licensors, collaborators, contract research organizations, suppliers and other business partners, potential setbacks in Cue Biopharma’s research and development efforts including negative or inconclusive results from its preclinical studies or clinical trials or Cue Biopharma’s ability to replicate in later clinical trials positive results found in preclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials of its product candidates and other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of Cue Biopharma’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement made by Cue Biopharma in this press release is based only on information currently available to Cue Biopharma and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Cue Biopharma undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Investor Contact
Marie Campinell
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
Cue Biopharma, Inc.
mcampinell@cuebio.com
Media Contact
Jonathan Pappas
LifeSci Communications
jpappas@lifescicomms.com