Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc.
AARD · Pharmaceutical Preparations · 21.8M shares · EDGAR filings ↗
Reference price $14.40 · est. market cap ~$314M — last insider purchase, 2025-12-11 (estimated from the dated SEC Form 4 price × shares outstanding — not a live quote)
Grade
C60Clinical-stage metabolic developer with a reasonable runway running a Phase 3 in PWS hyperphagia on modest prior efficacy.
Strengths
- Cash runway 8.1 quarters and current ratio 10.6 (80th pct); $110M cash
- Phase 3 HERO enrolling on FDA-aligned protocol with PWS Phase 2 HQ-CT reductions (~8-9 points)
Risks
- Obesity Phase 2s showed negligible, non-significant weight effects (~0.7% placebo-adjusted)
- Negative returns (ROA -0.49, ROE -0.54); single-indication binary Phase 3 risk
Notable findings
- Fund exitedNotable fund(s) exited this quarter: VANGUARD GROUP INC
- Cash burnNegative free cash flow (-54.3M)
- Exec changeRecent 8-K item 5.02 8-K ↗
- Strong balance sheetStrong balance sheet — $110M cash & investments, ~8 quarters of runway
- Notable holderHeld by 5 notable fund(s): CITADEL ADVISORS LLC, STATE STREET CORP, RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC +2 more (as of 2026-03-31)
- New fund positionNotable fund(s) opened this quarter: RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
- Trial resultTrial topline data reported — see 8-K for outcome 8-K ↗
Key metrics
Return on equity
-54.0%
Return on assets
-49.1%
Current ratio
10.6×
Free cash flow
-$54M
EBITDA
-$63M
Tangible book value
$107M
Cash & investments
$110M
Cash runway
8q
Insider transactions · last 18 months
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-11 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 7.0K | $14.48 |
| 2025-12-11 | Sun Nelson | Buy | 3.0K | $14.40 |
| 2025-10-15 | Jones Bryan | Option exercise | 1.2K | $4.24 |
| 2025-10-15 | Lee Tien-Li | Option exercise | 1.2K | $4.24 |
| 2025-09-15 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 3.5K | $9.94 |
| 2025-09-15 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 6.5K | $9.51 |
| 2025-09-12 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 5.0K | $8.50 |
| 2025-09-11 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 6.0K | $7.82 |
| 2025-09-10 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 9.0K | $7.91 |
| 2025-09-09 | Sun Nelson | Buy | 6.0K | $8.07 |
| 2025-08-28 | Lee Tien-Li | Option exercise | 17K | $4.24 |
| 2025-02-14 | Sun Nelson | Buy | 10K | $16.00 |
| 2025-02-14 | Cormorant Asset Management, LP | Conversion | 800K | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Cormorant Asset Management, LP | Buy | 188K | $16.00 |
| 2025-02-14 | Decheng Capital Global Life Sciences Fund IV, L.P. | Conversion | 2.3M | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Decheng Capital Global Life Sciences Fund IV, L.P. | Conversion | 333K | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Decheng Capital Global Life Sciences Fund IV, L.P. | Buy | 625K | $16.00 |
| 2025-02-14 | Decheng Capital Global Life Sciences Fund IV, L.P. | Buy | 625K | $16.00 |
| 2025-02-14 | Chi Jeffrey | Conversion | 133K | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Vickers Venture Fund VI Pte Ltd | Conversion | 1.6M | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Vickers Venture Fund VI Pte Ltd | Conversion | 413K | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Lee Tien-Li | Conversion | 41K | — |
| 2025-02-14 | Lee Tien-Li | Buy | 17K | $16.00 |
| 2025-02-14 | Sun Nelson | Conversion | 7.0K | — |
All non-derivative Form 4 activity (SEC), newest first.
Clinical trials
| Trial | Title | Phase | Status | Primary completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT06828861 ↗ | ARD-101 for Treatment of PWS: The Hunger Elimination or Reduction Objective Trial Hyperphagia, Prader-Willi Syndrome | PHASE3 | Suspended | 2027-03-01 |
| NCT07197034 ↗ | The Hunger Elimination or Reduction Objective (HERO ) Open -Label Extension (OLE) Trial Hyperphagia, Prader-Willi Syndrome | PHASE3 | Suspended | 2027-03-01 |
| NCT06126653 ↗ | A Study to Evaluate ARD-501 in Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder | PHASE2 | Completed | 2025-01-13 |
| NCT05153434 ↗ | A Study of Oral ARD-101 in Patients With Prader-Willi Syndrome Prader-Willi Syndrome | PHASE2 | Completed | 2024-09-24 |
| NCT05215847 ↗ | Study to Evaluate ARD-101 in Adults Receiving Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Surgery, Obesity | PHASE2 | Completed | 2023-02-03 |
| NCT05121441 ↗ | Study to Evaluate ARD-101 in Adults With Obesity Obesity | PHASE2 | Completed | 2022-11-09 |
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. NIH) · active studies first.
Notable events (8-K)
| Date | Items | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-12 | Exec/director changeExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-14 | OtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-07 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-24 | Material agreementExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-23 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-02-27 | OtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-02-12 | Exec/director changeOtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-02-10 | OtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
Recent filings
| Form | Filed | Period | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-K | 2026-06-12 | 2026-06-10 | 0001193125-26-269377 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-14 | 2026-05-14 | 0001193125-26-224069 ↗ |
| 10-Q | 2026-05-07 | 2026-03-31 | 0001193125-26-210675 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-07 | 2026-05-07 | 0001193125-26-210664 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-24 | 2026-03-23 | 0001193125-26-120164 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-23 | 2026-03-23 | 0001193125-26-119727 ↗ |
| 10-K | 2026-03-23 | 2025-12-31 | 0001193125-26-119770 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-02-27 | 2026-02-27 | 0001193125-26-082787 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-02-12 | 2026-02-09 | 0001193125-26-047757 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-02-10 | 2026-02-10 | 0001193125-26-043764 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-01-12 | 2026-01-12 | 0001193125-26-009862 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2025-12-10 | 2025-12-10 | 0001193125-25-314364 ↗ |