aibioNkarta sets up $100,000,000 at-the-market stock program with Stifel
Tickers NKTX
Nkarta set up a $100 million at-the-market program with Stifel on March 25, 2026, with commissions of up to 3%. Its 2025 net loss was $104.1 million, and its operating cash use was $88.7 million.
Key facts
- Company
- Nkarta, Inc. (NASDAQ: NKTX)
- News type
- Financings
- Primary source
- Nkarta, Inc. S-3 (2026-03-25)
Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX) entered into a sales agreement on March 25, 2026 with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated for an at-the-market stock program. Under it, the company may sell common stock with an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000 through Stifel as its sales agent. The company said in a Form 8-K that it sets the terms of each sale, including the number of shares, the time period, a daily share limit and any minimum price.
Stifel may sell the shares in any method that counts as an at-the-market offering under Securities Act Rule 415, including on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market or in privately negotiated transactions. The company will pay Stifel a commission of up to 3% of the gross sales proceeds of any shares sold, and it has given Stifel customary indemnification and contribution rights. The agreement ends when all the shares are sold or when it is terminated under its terms.
The shares will be issued under a Form S-3 registration statement, File No. 333-294611, filed March 25, 2026, together with an at-the-market prospectus supplement filed the same day. The 8-K names O'Melveny & Myers LLP as counsel to the company. The firm issued an opinion dated March 25, 2026 on the validity of the shares. Stifel is the only sales agent. The ATM prospectus says Stifel will be deemed an "underwriter" under the Securities Act, that Nkarta will reimburse up to $50,000 of Stifel's outside legal expenses, and that Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP will pass on certain matters for Stifel. The full sales agreement is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to the 8-K.
What the program can sell
The program is capped at $100,000,000 of stock. The 8-K does not say how many shares the company expects to sell or over what period. The prospectus assumes sales of 48,780,487 shares at $2.05 per share, the last reported sale price on March 24, 2026. On that assumption, up to 120,070,977 shares would be outstanding after the offering, based on 71,078,531 shares outstanding at December 31, 2025. The number actually issued depends on the price at each sale, and existing holders would be diluted by any shares sold. Nkarta says it will use net proceeds for research, development and manufacturing, work on its NK cell platform, working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. The S-3 lists the ability to obtain additional capital, "including any resulting dilution to our stockholders," among the risks in its forward-looking statements.
The 2025 losses and cash use
The company's annual report, filed March 25, 2026, shows a net loss of $104.1 million for 2025, against $108.8 million for 2024. Research and development expense fell to $90.4 million from $96.7 million. Cash used in operations was $88.7 million in 2025, down from $99.7 million in 2024.
At December 31, 2024, Nkarta reported cash and cash equivalents of $27.9 million and short-term investments of $239.5 million.
The lead program
The annual report calls NKX019 the company's lead pipeline program. NKX019 is a CAR NK product candidate that targets CD19 for autoimmune diseases. Nkarta describes it as an allogeneic, off-the-shelf therapy, made from donor cells, frozen and available for patients without delay. The company says NKX019 is being studied in an ongoing Phase 1 trial, Ntrust-1, in lupus nephritis and primary membranous nephropathy, and in a Phase 1 trial, Ntrust-2, in systemic sclerosis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy and ANCA-associated vasculitis.
The company says it believes engineered NK cells can be effective and accessible, be well tolerated and avoid some toxicities seen with other cell therapies. Those are the company's own claims. The annual report describes the program as still in Phase 1.
What comes next
The 8-K does not give a timetable for sales under the program. The annual report reports revenue of $0 for both 2025 and 2024. The program adds up to $100,000,000 of new equity capacity, and the filing gives no date for the next data readout.