US Bio Company CEO Cashes Out Approximately $6 Million in Stock Options

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXSM), a U.S.-based developer of central nervous system therapies, announced that its CEO, Herriot Tabuteau, exercised vested stock options and sold an equivalent number of common shares on February 2, 2026, converting approximately $6 million (about KRW 8 billion) into cash. Tabuteau exercised the options at $8.02 per share and immediately sold them at a weighted average price of about $185.60 per share. This transaction was executed under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading plan set before the options’ 10-year expiration, as disclosed in a regulatory filing. Even after this sale, Tabuteau reportedly retains indirect holdings of several million shares through a separate entity, in addition to his direct ownership.

The company said it will release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results on February 23, and preliminary figures show a significant year-on-year increase in product sales for 2025 (axsome.com). It also received priority review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an expanded indication of Auvelity—its antidepressant for treating agitation in Alzheimer’s patients—with a target decision date of April 30, 2026. Pipeline progress continues with the dosing of the first patient in the U.S. for the Phase 3 FORWARD trial of AXS-14, a fibromyalgia candidate, in January (investing.com).

Headquartered in New York, Axsome focuses on central nervous system disorders and markets Auvelity for major depressive disorder, Sunosi for narcolepsy, and Symbravo for migraine, targeting conditions such as depression, Alzheimer’s agitation, migraine, narcolepsy, and fibromyalgia (globenewswire.com). With expanding revenues and record-high share prices in recent years, the company has strengthened its presence in the U.S. biotech sector, and CEO-founder Tabuteau’s transparent disclosure of his share-structure adjustments has been positively received by investors (investing.com).