Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
On November 19, 2020, Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, as representatives of the several underwriters named therein (the “Underwriters”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell 2,500,000 shares of its common stock (the “Shares”) to the Underwriters (the “Offering”). The Shares will be sold at the public offering price of $39.00 per share. Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the Company has also granted the Underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 375,000 shares of its common stock. The Underwriting Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, conditions to closing, market standoff provisions, termination provisions and indemnification obligations, including for liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Offering is being made pursuant to the shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-239801) that was filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on July 10, 2020, and declared effective by the SEC on July 20, 2020, and a related prospectus supplement.
The Company estimates that net proceeds from the Offering will be approximately $91.4 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated Offering expenses, and assuming no exercise of the Underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with its existing cash and cash equivalents, to fund research, clinical and process development and manufacturing of its product candidates, including late stage development of STK-001, clinical development of its next target for the treatment of Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy, developing additional product candidates, working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes. The Company expects the Offering to close on November 24, 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The Underwriting Agreement is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this report and the foregoing description of the terms of the Underwriting Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to such exhibit. A copy of the opinion of Fenwick & West LLP, relating to the validity of the Shares in connection with the Offering, is filed with this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 5.1.
Item 8.01. Other Events.
On November 19, 2020, the Company issued a press release announcing the pricing of the Offering. A copy of the press release is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d) Exhibits
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Any statements contained herein that do not describe historical facts, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the expected net proceeds of the Offering and the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risks identified in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, filed with the SEC on November 12, 2020, the prospectus supplement related to the Offering, and subsequent filings with the SEC. Any of these risks and uncertainties could materially and adversely affect the Company’s results of operations, which would, in turn, have a significant and adverse impact on the Company’s stock price. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
