Rocket Pharmaceuticals Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock

Rhea-AI Summary

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RCKT), a late-stage biotechnology company focused on genetic therapies for rare disorders, has announced plans for a $150 million public offering of common stock. The company will grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of shares. Morgan Stanley, Leerink Partners, and Cantor are serving as joint book-running managers, with LifeSci Capital as lead manager.

The offering will be conducted through a previously filed shelf registration statement with the SEC. The final terms and completion of the offering are subject to market conditions.

Positive

• Access to significant capital with $150 million potential raise
• Strong underwriting team including major financial institutions

Negative

• Potential dilution for existing shareholders
• Additional 15% share option could further increase dilution

Insights

Financial Analyst

This $150 million public offering marks a significant capital raise for Rocket Pharmaceuticals, with potential for an additional 15% through the underwriter option. The timing suggests a strategic move to strengthen the balance sheet, likely to support their late-stage pipeline development. Having Morgan Stanley, Leerink Partners and Cantor as joint book-runners adds credibility to the offering. However, this will lead to share dilution for existing stockholders. The market's reception of this offering will be crucial, as biotechnology companies often face heightened scrutiny during capital raises, particularly in the current market environment where investors are more selective with growth-stage biotech investments.

Biotech Research Analyst

The capital raise comes at a critical juncture for Rocket Pharmaceuticals as they advance their genetic therapy pipeline for rare disorders. As a late-stage biotech company, substantial funding is essential for clinical trials, regulatory submissions and potential commercialization preparations. The company's focus on sustainable pipeline development in the high-unmet-need rare disease space positions them in a valuable niche, though execution risks remain significant. This funding could provide runway for key clinical milestones, but investors should monitor burn rate and clinical development timelines closely.

CRANBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT), a fully integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline of genetic therapies for rare disorders with high unmet need, announced today that it intends to offer and sell $150 million of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. In addition, Rocket intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15 percent of shares of its common stock offered in the public offering. The offering is subject to market conditions and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

Morgan Stanley, Leerink Partners and Cantor are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering, and LifeSci Capital is acting as lead manager for the offering.

The shares are being offered by Rocket pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement that was previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The offering is being made only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

When available, copies of the prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014, by email at prospectus@morganstanley.com; Leerink Partners LLC, Syndicate Department, 53 State Street, 40th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, or by telephone at (800) 808-7525 ext. 6105 or by email at syndicate@leerink.com; or Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York, 10022, or by email at prospectus@cantor.com. You may also obtain a copy of this document free of charge by visiting the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT) is a fully integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline of investigational genetic therapies designed to correct the root cause of complex and rare disorders. Rocket’s innovative multi-platform approach allows us to design the optimal gene therapy for each indication, creating potentially transformative options that enable people living with devastating rare diseases to experience long and full lives.

Rocket’s lentiviral (LV) vector-based hematology portfolio consists of late-stage programs for Fanconi Anemia (FA), a difficult-to-treat genetic disease that leads to bone marrow failure (BMF) and potentially cancer, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), a severe pediatric genetic disorder that causes recurrent and life-threatening infections which are frequently fatal, and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD), a monogenic red blood cell disorder resulting in increased red cell destruction and mild to life-threatening anemia.

Rocket’s adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-based cardiovascular portfolio includes a late-stage program for Danon disease, a devastating heart failure condition resulting in thickening of the heart, an early-stage program in clinical trials for PKP2-arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a life-threatening heart failure disease causing ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, and a pre-clinical program targeting BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a heart failure condition that causes enlarged ventricles.

Rocket Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Various statements in this release concerning the timing and completion of the public offering on the anticipated terms or at all may constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and other federal securities laws. All such forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of substantial risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside Rocket’s control, that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include fluctuations in Rocket’s stock price, changes in market conditions and satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the public offering, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the prospectus supplement and registration statement referenced above, Rocket’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed February 27, 2024 with the SEC and subsequent filings with the SEC including our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. There can be no assurance that Rocket will be able to complete the public offering on the anticipated terms. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and Rocket undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241210060247/en/

Media & Investors

Meg Dodge

mdodge@rocketpharma.com

Media

Kevin Giordano

media@rocketpharma.com

Investors

Brooks Rahmer

investors@rocketpharma.com

Source: Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

FAQ

How much is Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) planning to raise in its public offering?

Rocket Pharmaceuticals is planning to raise $150 million through a public offering of common stock, with an additional 15% option for underwriters.

Who are the underwriters for Rocket Pharmaceuticals' (RCKT) public offering?

Morgan Stanley, Leerink Partners, and Cantor are acting as joint book-running managers, while LifeSci Capital is acting as lead manager for the offering.

What will Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) use the offering proceeds for?

The press release does not specify the intended use of proceeds from the public offering.