ORIC Pharmaceuticals Reports Inducement Grants under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)
Rhea-AI Summary
ORIC Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ORIC) granted equity awards to five new non-executive employees as material inducements to employment under Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4). On August 3, 2026, the company awarded 125,400 non-qualified stock options and 20,550 restricted stock units (RSUs) under its 2022 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan.
The stock options have an exercise price equal to ORIC’s closing share price on the grant date, with 25% vesting after one year and the remainder vesting monthly over the next 36 months. The RSUs vest in three equal annual installments over three years. According to ORIC, the Compensation Committee approved these grants pursuant to Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4).
Positive
- 125,400 stock options and 20,550 RSUs granted to new hires as inducements
- Structured vesting (4-year options, 3-year RSUs) designed to support employee retention
- Option exercise price set at grant-date closing price, aligning employee and shareholder interests
Negative
- New equity awards of 145,950 shares equivalent introduce incremental potential dilution for existing shareholders
News Explained
The grants are complete, but the related shares are not all vested at once: employee rights remain subject to continued service and staged vesting, so any change in ownership allocation for existing holders would arise over time rather than on the August 3 grant date.
Market Reaction – ORIC
Following this news, ORIC has declined 2.15%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction. Our momentum scanner has triggered 5 alerts so far, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility. The stock is currently trading at $13.21.
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Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 03 | 2Q26 earnings report | Positive | +27.1% | Reported cash position, Phase 3 trial initiation, and Bayer collaboration |
| Jul 20 | ESMO presentations | Neutral | -2.9% | Announced three oncology presentations scheduled for the ESMO Congress |
| Jul 14 | Phase 3 trial initiation | Positive | +5.6% | Initiated Himalayas-1 and announced Bayer supply collaboration |
| Jul 02 | Inducement equity grants | Neutral | -6.3% | Granted options and restricted stock units to new employees |
| Jun 05 | Inducement equity grants | Neutral | +0.4% | Granted options and restricted stock units to two new employees |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Positive pipeline or earnings announcements aligned with gains, while inducement-grant announcements produced mixed reactions.
Key Terms
non-qualified stock options financial
restricted stock units financial
inducement grants regulatory
nasdaq rule 5635(c)(4) regulatory
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and SAN DIEGO, Aug. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, today announced that on August 3, 2026 (the “Grant Date”), ORIC granted a total of 125,400 non-qualified stock options and 20,550 restricted stock units to five new non-executive employees who began their employment with ORIC in July 2026.
These inducement grants were granted pursuant to the ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2022 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan, subject to recipient’s continued employment or service through each applicable vesting date. The stock options have an exercise price equal to the closing price of ORIC’s common stock on the Grant Date. Twenty-five percent (
The inducement grants were approved by ORIC’s Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, as required by Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4), and were granted as a material inducement to employment in accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4).
About ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ORIC Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients’ lives by Overcoming Resistance In Cancer. ORIC’s clinical stage product candidates include (1) rinzimetostat, an allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) via the EED subunit, being developed for prostate cancer, and (2) enozertinib, a brain penetrant inhibitor targeting EGFR exon 20 insertion and EGFR atypical mutations, being developed for NSCLC. ORIC has offices in South San Francisco and San Diego, California. For more information, please go to www.oricpharma.com, and follow us on X or LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding the vesting of the inducement grants; target indications for ORIC’s product candidates; the potential advantages of ORIC’s product candidates; and plans underlying ORIC’s clinical trials and development. Words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “goal,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon ORIC’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics and operating as an early clinical stage company; ORIC’s ability to develop, initiate or complete preclinical studies and clinical trials for, obtain approvals for and commercialize any of its product candidates; changes in ORIC’s plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates; the potential for clinical trials of ORIC’s product candidates to differ from preclinical, initial, interim, preliminary or expected results; negative impacts of health emergencies, economic instability or international conflicts on ORIC’s operations, including clinical trials; the risk of the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of ORIC’s license and collaboration agreements; the potential market for our product candidates, and the progress and success of competing therapeutics currently available or in development; ORIC’s ability to raise any additional funding it will need to continue to pursue its business and product development plans; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; ORIC’s reliance on third parties, including contract manufacturers and contract research organizations; ORIC’s ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for its product candidates; the loss of key scientific or management personnel; competition in the industry in which ORIC operates; general economic and market conditions; and other risks. Information regarding the foregoing and additional risks may be found in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in ORIC’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 3, 2026, and ORIC’s future reports to be filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and ORIC assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Contact:
Dominic Piscitelli, Chief Financial Officer
dominic.piscitelli@oricpharma.com
info@oricpharma.com
