Moleculin Announces Exercise of Warrants for $8.3 Million Gross Proceeds
Rhea-AI Summary
Moleculin (Nasdaq: MBRX) announced agreements for immediate exercise of outstanding warrants to purchase up to 2,122,652 shares at an exercise price of $3.90 per share, producing approximately $8.3 million gross proceeds before fees.
The company will issue new unregistered warrants exercisable for up to 6,367,956 shares, subject to shareholder approval, with a five-year term from approval. The transaction is expected to close on or about February 20, 2026, and net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Positive
- $8.3M gross proceeds expected from warrant exercises
- 2,122,652 shares issued upon exercise at $3.90 per share
- New warrants for 6,367,956 shares extend potential future financing
Negative
- Potential dilution from 6,367,956 new warrant shares upon exercise
- New warrants unregistered until company files resale registration with SEC
Market Reaction
Following this news, MBRX has declined 40.75%, reflecting a significant negative market reaction. Our momentum scanner has triggered 14 alerts so far, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. The stock is currently trading at $2.85. This price movement has removed approximately $5M from the company's valuation. Trading volume is exceptionally heavy at 9.0x the average, suggesting significant selling pressure.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus (15 min delayed). Upgrade to Silver for real-time data.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
MBRX was up 5.48% with elevated volume, while peers showed mixed moves: some up (e.g., KZIA, LPTX, MBIO) and others down (e.g., SNGX), suggesting a more stock-specific reaction than a uniform sector surge.
Previous Offering Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10 | Warrant exercise financing | Negative | -27.1% | Immediate exercise of existing warrants for about $6.5M in gross proceeds. |
| Aug 28 | Warrant exercise financing | Negative | -35.3% | $6.0M gross proceeds via warrant exercises and issuance of new unregistered warrants. |
| Jun 20 | Public equity offering | Negative | -54.2% | $5.9M public offering with common stock and Series E warrants at $0.37. |
| Feb 13 | Warrant exercise financing | Negative | +202.4% | Warrant exercises at $1.00 per share for about $5.8M and new warrants. |
| Aug 19 | Public offering with warrants | Negative | +7.1% | Closing of up to $16.5M public offering with two warrant series linked to MIRACLE. |
Offering- and warrant-related financings have often led to sharp price moves, with mostly negative immediate reactions but two notable upside outliers.
Recent history for Moleculin shows repeated capital raises via offerings and warrant exercises from Aug 2024 through Dec 2025. These events ranged from a public offering of up to $16.5 million to multiple warrant exercises generating roughly $5.8–6.8 million each. Price reactions were frequently negative but occasionally strongly positive. Today’s warrant exercise for $8.3 million continues this pattern of using equity-linked structures for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Historical Comparison
In the past year, Moleculin reported 5 offering/warrant financing events with an average move of 18.57%, often skewed negative but with occasional sharp rallies.
The company has repeatedly used public offerings and warrant-exercise inducements from 2024–2025 to fund development, often pairing immediate cash proceeds with longer-dated warrants.
Regulatory & Risk Context
An effective S-3 shelf filed on 2025-09-19 registers up to 64,864,864 shares tied to Series F warrants. Full cash exercise would yield gross proceeds of $35.7 million. The current private warrant inducement sits alongside this registered capacity, adding further potential equity issuance over time.
Market Pulse Summary
The stock is dropping -40.8% following this news. A negative reaction despite fresh capital would fit prior patterns where offerings and warrant inducements often coincided with sharp selloffs, including -27.15%, -35.27% and -54.2% moves. The structure here adds 6,367,956 new warrants and sits alongside registered capacity tied to 64,864,864 shares, so concerns about cumulative dilution and future exercises could weigh on sentiment after the initial announcement.
Key Terms
warrants financial
volume weighted average price financial
working capital financial
private placement financial
registration statement regulatory
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
HOUSTON, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Moleculin Biotech, Inc., (Nasdaq: MBRX) (“Moleculin” or the “Company”), today announced it has entered into agreements with certain holders of its existing warrants for the immediate exercise of certain outstanding warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,122,652 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of
Roth Capital Partners is acting as the Company’s financial advisor for this transaction.
In consideration for the immediate exercise of the warrants for cash, the Company will issue new unregistered warrants to purchase shares of common stock. The new warrants will be exercisable for an aggregate of up to 6,367,956 shares of common stock, at an exercise price equal to the lesser of
The transaction is expected to close on or about February 20, 2026, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The new warrants described above were offered in a private placement pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and, along with the shares of common stock issuable upon their exercise, have not been registered under the 1933 Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the SEC covering the resale of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the new warrants.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy 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 the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Moleculin Biotech, Inc.
Moleculin Biotech, Inc. is a Phase 3 clinical stage pharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of therapeutic candidates addressing hard-to-treat tumors and viruses. The Company’s lead program, Annamycin, is a next-generation highly efficacious and well tolerated anthracycline designed to avoid multidrug resistance mechanisms and to lack the cardiotoxicity common with currently prescribed anthracyclines. Annamycin is currently in development for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and soft tissue sarcoma (STS) lung metastases.
The Company has begun the MIRACLE (Moleculin R/R AML AnnAraC Clinical Evaluation) Trial (MB-108), a pivotal, adaptive design Phase 3 trial evaluating Annamycin in combination with cytarabine, together referred to as AnnAraC (the combination of Annamycin and cytarabine, also referred to as “Ara-C”) and, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Following a successful Phase 1B/2 study (MB-106), with input from the FDA, the Company believes it has substantially de-risked the development pathway towards a potential approval for Annamycin for the treatment of AML. This study remains subject to appropriate future filings with potential additional feedback from the FDA and their foreign equivalents.
Additionally, the Company is developing WP1066, an Immune/Transcription Modulator capable of inhibiting p-STAT3 and other oncogenic transcription factors while also stimulating a natural immune response, targeting brain tumors, pancreatic and other cancers. Moleculin also has in its pipeline a portfolio of antimetabolites, including WP1122 for the potential treatment of pathogenic viruses, as well as certain cancer indications.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, the closing of the offering and the use of the proceeds thereof. Although Moleculin believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, expectations may prove to have been materially different from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Moleculin has attempted to identify forward looking statements by terminology including 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'projects,' 'intends,' 'potential,' 'may,' 'could,' 'might,' 'will,' 'should,' 'approximately' or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those discussed under Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in our most recently filed Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and updated from time to time in our Form 10-Q filings and in our other public filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of its date. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances occurring after its date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
(908) 824-0775
MBRX@jtcir.com
FAQ
How much cash will Moleculin (MBRX) raise from the warrant exercises on February 19, 2026?
What are the terms of the new unregistered warrants Moleculin (MBRX) will issue?
When is the Moleculin (MBRX) warrant transaction expected to close and what are the conditions?
How will Moleculin (MBRX) use the net proceeds from the warrant exercises?
Do the new Moleculin (MBRX) warrants require shareholder approval before exercise?
