--- title: "Aardvark Therapeutics sets up $150,000,000 at-the-market stock program" url: "https://aibio.space/news/aardvark-therapeutics-sets-up-150-000-000-market-stock-program/" publisher: "aibio.space (Biotech Investor Relations News)" date: "2026-03-23" section: "Financings" tickers: "NASDAQ:AARD" source: "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774857/000119312526119973/ck0001774857-20260323.htm" summary: "Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. signed an equity distribution agreement with Piper Sandler & Co. on March 23, 2026 and filed a Form S-3 shelf registration the" --- By the aibio.space news desk. Sources - [Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. S-3 (2026-03-23)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774857/000119312526119973/ck0001774857-20260323.htm) - [ck0001774857-20260323.htm](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774857/000119312526120164/ck0001774857-20260323.htm) - [Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. 10-K (2026-03-23): business](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774857/000119312526119770/ck0001774857-20251231.htm) - [Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. financial data (SEC XBRL)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774857/000119312526119770/) [AARD](https://aibio.space/companies/aardvark-therapeutics/) 2026-03-23 # Aardvark Therapeutics sets up $150,000,000 at-the-market stock program Tickers [AARD](https://aibio.space/companies/aardvark-therapeutics/) Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. signed an equity distribution agreement with Piper Sandler & Co. on March 23, 2026 and filed a Form S-3 shelf registration the same day. The company paused its main Phase 3 trial in February 2026 after cardiac observations in a healthy volunteer study. ## Key facts - **Company**: Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AARD) - **News type**: Financings - **Primary source**: [Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. S-3 (2026-03-23)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774857/000119312526119973/ck0001774857-20260323.htm) *Glass office towers seen from below. CC0, via rawpixel. The picture shows the field, not the companies named.* ## The program Aardvark Therapeutics (Nasdaq: [AARD](https://aibio.space/companies/aardvark-therapeutics/)) entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Piper Sandler & Co. on March 23, 2026, with Piper Sandler acting as sales agent. Under the agreement the company may offer and sell shares of its common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, with an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000, from time to time and at its sole discretion. This is an at-the-market program, in which a company sells stock gradually at prevailing prices through an agent. The company will pay Piper Sandler a commission of 3.0% of the gross sales price of each share sold. It has no obligation to sell any shares, and it agreed to provide the agent with indemnification and contribution against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933. The 8-K filed under Item 1.01 names no other bank, lender or advisor. Paul Hastings LLP appears as counsel in the "with copies to" line of the registration statement. ## The shelf Sales would be made under a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, Registration No. 333-294537, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the same day. The shelf covers up to $400,000,000 of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, rights, units and depositary shares. The $150,000,000 sales agreement prospectus is included inside that $400,000,000. If the agreement ends, any part of the $150,000,000 not sold becomes available for other offerings under the base prospectus. The company says it intends to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include funding research and development, capital expenditures, working capital and general and administrative expenses. The last reported sale price of the common stock on March 20, 2026 was $4.07 per share on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The registration statement gives no sale price or number of shares for the program, so the dilution depends on how much stock is sold and at what price. ## A trial on hold The program follows a clinical setback. Aardvark says that on February 27, 2026 it voluntarily paused enrollment and dosing in the HERO and open label extension trials of its lead drug, ARD-101, following reversible cardiac observations in a healthy volunteer study. The company says it is reviewing the data and working with the FDA to determine next steps, and that aspects of the trial design, development timeline and future clinical plans may change. It also says the previously agreed protocol elements may be revisited. HERO is a Phase 3 trial of ARD-101 in hyperphagia, or extreme hunger, associated with Prader-Willi Syndrome. In January 2026 the company announced over 50% completion of the target enrollment of 90 patients. ARD-101 is an oral, largely gut-restricted drug that activates bitter taste receptors in the gut. The completed Phase 2 trial in Prader-Willi Syndrome was small: 12 subjects completed the first part, and four subjects who completed the revised protocol had only grade 1 treatment-related adverse events and showed a decrease in HQ-CT 9 of approximately eight points at 28 days. The pause spread to the second program. Aardvark says it has also voluntarily paused the Phase 2 STRENGTH and POWER trials of ARD-201, a planned combination of ARD-101 and a DPP-4 inhibitor for obesity, while it evaluates the safety observations. It expects to provide further guidance in the second quarter of 2026. ## Losses and cash use The company's annual report, filed the same day as the agreement, shows how much capital the trials consume. For 2025 Aardvark reported a net loss of $57.6 million, compared with a net loss of $20.6 million for 2024. Research and development expense was $48.9 million, up from $17.4 million, and the company used $54.2 million in operations, against $18.1 million the year before. The filings do not say when or whether the company will sell any shares under the program. [Report an error](https://aibio.space/reputation/#correction) ## Companies in this story AARD Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. NASDAQ ยท United States Open the starter desk ## More in Financings Financings ### [INmune Bio raises $4.50 million in registered direct offering with warrants](https://aibio.space/news/inmune-bio-raises-4-50-million-registered-direct-offering-warrants/) Oct 29, 2026 Financings ### [Lexeo Therapeutics files $300 million shelf registration](https://aibio.space/news/lexeo-therapeutics-files-300-million-shelf-registration/) Oct 29, 2026 Financings ### [ProKidney files $650 million shelf with $200 million Jefferies sales program](https://aibio.space/news/prokidney-files-650-million-shelf-200-million-jefferies-sales-program/) Oct 29, 2026 --- Source page: https://aibio.space/news/aardvark-therapeutics-sets-up-150-000-000-market-stock-program/. Facts in aibio.space stories are checked against company filings and releases; opinion is labelled. Cite as: aibio.space, "Aardvark Therapeutics sets up $150,000,000 at-the-market stock program", 2026-03-23, https://aibio.space/news/aardvark-therapeutics-sets-up-150-000-000-market-stock-program/