SLS And IBRX Eye Green Weekly Close: Vanguard’s Major Stakes In Cancer Drugmakers Steal The Spotlight

• Vanguard increased its SLS stake by 9.3% to 8.23 million shares.
• Sellas’ SLS009 Phase 2 study has enrolled 28 of 80 patients, with initial data expected in Q4.
• Vanguard remained IBRX’s largest institutional holder, with 15.69 million shares valued at $137.4 million.

Shares of Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) and ImmunityBio (IBRX) are headed for a positive weekly close as fresh filings highlighted Vanguard’s major institutional stakes in both cancer-drug developers.

So far this week, SLS has gained 3%, outpacing IBRX’s marginal 0.1% rise. 

As of June 30, Vanguard Capital Management held 8.23 million SLS shares worth $121.4 million and 15.69 million IBRX shares valued at $137.4 million, marking a combined quarter-end value of about $259 million.

Vanguard Boosts SLS Stake 

Vanguard Capital Management, Sellas’ largest institutional holder, added 700,176 shares during the second quarter, increasing its stake by 9.3%. Other Vanguard units also expanded their positions. Vanguard Portfolio Management added 698,293 shares to hit 2.16 million, while Vanguard Fiduciary Trust bought 132,327 shares, bringing its stake to 1.34 million.

Additionally, BNP Paribas added 1.03 million SLS shares, UBS bought 507,338, and Northern Trust added 343,944. Renaissance Technologies opened a 310,364-share position, while Morgan Stanley cut its stake by 100,032 shares to 1.24 million.

Sellas has enrolled 28 of 80 planned patients in a Phase 2 trial of SLS009 in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia, with initial results expected in the fourth quarter. The company is also exploring the drug in solid tumors after it showed activity against pancreatic cancer cells resistant to RAS-targeting treatments.

Meanwhile, its Phase 3 Regal trial of Galinpepimut-S (GPS) has recorded 78 of the 80 events required for final analysis. Sellas ended the quarter with $138.3 million in cash and equivalents. Its net loss widened to $9.6 million, although its per-share loss narrowed to $0.05.

Vanguard Holds $137M IBRX Stake 

Vanguard Capital Management was also ImmunityBio’s largest institutional holder, with 15.69 million shares worth $137.4 million.  Renaissance Technologies opened a 1.03 million-share IBRX position, Marshall Wace increased its stake more than 5x to 387,700 shares and Tidal Investments established a 252,048-share holding. Morgan Stanley reduced its position by nearly 15% to 3.43 million shares.

ImmunityBio’s second-quarter net product revenue climbed 92% year over year and 15% sequentially to a record $50.7 million, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of growth for its flagship immunotherapy, Anktiva. First-half revenue jumped 121% to $94.8 million.  Anktiva also recently secured its broadest authorization yet in the UAE, covering certain BCG-unresponsive bladder cancers, including papillary-only disease, and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

The FDA is also reviewing ImmunityBio’s application to expand Anktiva’s U.S. label to papillary-only bladder cancer, with a decision due Jan.6, 2027. 

How Do Retail Traders Feel About SLS And IBRX?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for SLS was ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume, while its watcher base grew 10% over the past three months. By comparison, sentiment around IBRX was ‘neutral’ amid ‘low’ message volume, with its watcher base rising 3% over the same period, indicating stronger retail interest in SLS.

Over the past year, SLS has surged 697%, significantly outperforming IBRX’s 171% gain.

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