Mo Qatanani, Chief Scientific Officer at Scholar Rock Holding (NASDAQ:SRRK), executed a sale of 8,406 shares to satisfy tax obligations related to RSU vesting, while the company continues to advance regulatory submissions and attract analyst interest for its rare-disease therapies. Despite regulatory hurdles with its manufacturing partner, Scholar Rock is preparing for a planned U.S. launch in 2026, with multiple analysts maintaining positive ratings on the company’s prospects.
Key Points
- Scholar Rock's CSO Mo Qatanani sold 8,406 shares to cover tax liabilities from RSU vesting.
- Multiple analysts, including UBS and Cantor Fitzgerald, hold positive ratings and price targets for Scholar Rock driven by its apitegromab drug candidate targeting rare diseases.
- The FDA issued regulatory challenges, including a warning letter to Catalent Indiana and a Complete Response Letter for apitegromab, but the company plans to resubmit its biologics license application and expects a 2026 U.S. launch.
On January 16, 2026, Mo Qatanani, Chief Scientific Officer of Scholar Rock Holding (NASDAQ:SRRK), completed the sale of 8,406 shares of the company’s common stock. These shares were transacted at a price of $44.4777 each, culminating in a total sale value of approximately $373,879. This sale followed the vesting of restricted stock units (RSUs) on January 15, 2026, which triggered tax withholding requirements and led to the transfer of shares to satisfy those obligations. The vested RSUs originated from awards granted on February 14, 2022, and February 12, 2024. After this transaction, Qatanani’s direct holdings include a combined total of 100,558 shares, composed of 14,898 outstanding common stock shares plus 85,660 RSUs.
Beyond insider transactions, Scholar Rock has recently been the subject of multiple analyst assessments and regulatory updates, underscoring momentum and challenges in its development pipeline. UBS launched coverage on Scholar Rock with a Buy recommendation and assigned a price target of $60, highlighting optimism regarding the company’s strategic positioning within rare disease treatment domains, particularly its lead candidate, apitegromab. Along similar lines, Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight stance, commending the drug’s candidacy for approval in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
However, Scholar Rock’s manufacturing partner, Catalent Indiana, received an FDA warning letter—a regulatory setback that the company is actively addressing. Scholar Rock remains confident in its strategy to refile its biologics license application (BLA) and anticipates a potential U.S. product launch during 2026. Wolfe Research also initiated coverage with an Outperform rating, despite the receipt of a Complete Response Letter from the FDA concerning apitegromab, reflecting continued belief in the product’s future potential.
Moreover, BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $50, citing the company's measures to transfer commercial manufacturing capacity to an alternative site as a proactive contingency plan. These developments illustrate the company’s navigation through regulatory complexities while maintaining confidence among financial analysts and investors in the specialty biopharmaceutical industry.
Risks
- Regulatory hurdles for Scholar Rock's manufacturing partner, Catalent Indiana, could delay commercialization timelines.
- The FDA's Complete Response Letter on apitegromab signals potential issues with drug approval, posing uncertainty for market entry and revenue realization.
- Ongoing dependency on successful resubmission of the biologics license application and the operational transition to a second manufacturing facility carries execution risk.