Cassava Sciences (SAVA) Stock Sees Surge After CEO's Major Share Purchase and Alzheimer's Program Withdrawal

Cassava Sciences' (SAVA) CEO Richard Barry purchased a large share of the company's stock after halting its Alzheimer's program. The move led to a 50% surge in the stock price, reversing the company's multi-year losses. Cassava Sciences currently trades at a price-to-book ratio of 1.6x, which is below its peer average and the US Pharmaceuticals industry average. The discounted P/B ratio suggests caution among investors, but our DCF model cannot determine if the stock is undervalued or overvalued due to insufficient financial data.

Cassava Sciences' (NASDAQ: SAVA) stock price surged by 46.98% on September 23, 2025, following the company's CEO, Richard Barry, filing insider purchases of 237,941 shares on September 18 and 19, totaling $534,743. The stock price increase was significant, bringing the company's valuation to $164 million, the highest it has been since the failure of its Alzheimer's disease drug program in November 2024.

The insider purchase was the second by Richard Barry since he joined the board in 2021 and became CEO following the resignation of Remi Barbier and Lindsay Burns. The first purchase occurred in 2021 when Richard Barry bought 150,000 shares in the open market. The recent purchases, totaling 245,113 shares, have increased Richard Barry's holding to 714,675 shares.

The sudden share price increase comes as Cassava Sciences pivots its focus from Alzheimer's disease to Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC)-related epilepsy. The company's proprietary drug, simufilam, showed promise in preclinical studies for TSC-related epilepsy, with results indicating reduced seizure activity and dysmorphic neurons. Cassava Sciences licensed the intellectual property from Yale University on February 26, 2025, to develop and commercialize simufilam for TSC-related epilepsy.

As of June 30, 2025, Cassava Sciences had $112.4 million in cash and no debt. The company expects to have $61-$65 million in cash by the end of 2025, with net cash used in operations expected to be $47 to $51 million for the second half of 2025. The company's net loss was $44.2 million, including a $31.25 million estimated loss contingency related to potential securities litigation.

The current price-to-book ratio of Cassava Sciences is 1.6x, which is below the peer average and the US Pharmaceuticals industry average. The discounted cash flow (DCF) model cannot determine if the stock is undervalued or overvalued due to insufficient financial data.

The surge in stock price could be attributed to the insider purchases and the potential of simufilam in TSC-related epilepsy. However, the company's current valuation of $160 million may be too high, given its pipeline and cash value. Further news or developments in the clinical trial process could impact the stock price.