DENVER, Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (247marketnews.com) -- NeOnc Technologies Holdings (NASDAQ:NTHI) has just added another potentially important element to an already potent story: its CEO, Amir Heshmatpour, is continuing to buy shares on the open market.

According to the Form 4 transaction information provided by the company’s latest filing, Heshmatpour purchased 12,000 NTHI shares on August 14 at an average price of $3.7883 and another 3,000 shares on August 17 at an average price of $4.3733. Combined, the 15,000 shares represent roughly $58,600 of additional open-market buying, at a weighted average price of approximately $3.91 per share.

That distinction matters. Insider open-market buying with personal capital is one of the more closely watched insider signals because the executive is voluntarily committing additional money to the company's stock at market prices. Heshmatpour has also previously demonstrated this behavior: NeOnc disclosed in April that he had purchased approximately $500,000 of NTHI stock, while earlier company commentary described his conviction in the company's clinical direction.

Now the timing is particularly interesting because the insider purchases come immediately after what may be the most consequential clinical development in NeOnc's history.

The Clinical Story Has Changed

NeOnc's NEO100 Phase 2a study in recurrent IDH1-mutant high-grade glioma produced a 48.9% six-month progression-free survival rate versus a pre-specified 20% historical benchmark, with a significant reported p-value of 0.0047. Median overall survival was 26.09 months, while the company reported six-, 12- and 24-month overall survival rates of 86.7%, 60.9% and 54.1%, respectively.

Those numbers don't eliminate the risks inherent in a small, open-label Phase 2a study, but they do give investors a very different dataset to work with. NeOnc said that it intends to seek a Type B FDA meeting to discuss a potential registrational pathway, while NEO100 already carries FDA Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Rare Pediatric Disease designations.

That is precisely why the latest insider buying deserves attention. Heshmatpour isn't buying into an unanswered clinical question; he is now buying after the company reported a major clinical readout and while the next regulatory chapter is beginning.

Then There Is the Short-Side Equation

The other half of the NTHI story is the Nasdaq’s most recent published short interest market data showed a substantial short positioning in NTHI shares. Third-party data further confirmed how quickly the short-interest picture has increased during 2026, meaning that some shorters were betting on weak Phase 2a data: they were wrong.

However, the odd market response to NeOnc reporting a result substantially above the historical benchmark may indicate that the shorts went deeper to try to force illogical panic selling.

When a heavily shorted stock receives strong fundamental news, the mechanics can change rapidly. Short sellers who originally sold shares expecting the stock to decline eventually have to buy shares to close those positions. If the stock rises while short sellers are attempting to exit, those purchases can add demand to an already rising market, which is the basic mechanism behind a short squeeze.

Insider Buying + Clinical Catalyst + Short Position

The important point isn't that 15,000 shares of insider buying is large enough by itself to move NTHI; the significance is the signal and the timing.

NTHI has now combined three ingredients that traders tend to watch closely: a major clinical catalyst, continued insider accumulation, and elevated short positioning relative to the stock's trading liquidity.

The company itself has been building toward this moment for months. NEO100's Phase 2a trial was fully enrolled, and earlier data had already suggested a 44% six-month PFS rate, while NeOnc had reported no significant toxicity with prolonged intranasal administration.

The company has also continued expanding its development footprint. In June, NeOnc received UAE IND authorization covering multiple NEO100 protocols, including adult Phase 1 through Phase 2 development and a pediatric pathway for progressive or recurrent Grade III or IV gliomas.

So, the market isn't looking at an isolated press release anymore. It is looking at a developing clinical and regulatory story.

Could the Shorts Become the Buyers?

This is where NTHI becomes particularly interesting and create a very different risk-reward equation for short sellers, as the fundamental thesis that they used to support their short position now has to be reassessed.

If the next wave of investors interprets the Phase 2a data as evidence that NEO100 deserves a higher valuation, while short sellers simultaneously decide to reduce exposure, both groups can be competing for the same relatively limited pool of available shares and that’s where days-to-cover becomes relevant.

A five-day-or-more short ratio is often viewed by traders as potentially meaningful because a large percentage of average daily trading volume would theoretically be required to unwind the reported short position. A figure approaching 10 or 12 days is even more notable, but days to cover is not a prediction of a squeeze. It assumes trading volume remains comparable and that shorts can actually transact at those volumes without materially affecting price.

The Bigger Question Is No Longer Just the Squeeze

Perhaps the most important distinction is that NeOnc doesn't need a short squeeze to make the story interesting.

The clinical data have created a fundamental catalyst independent of the trading mechanics, while NeOnc’s research coverage from BTIG, Alliance Global Partners and Maxim Group, offers three separate institutional perspectives on the Company and its developing clinical story and some are posted on NeOnc’s Investor page https://investors.neonc.com/.

If NEO100 ultimately advances toward a registrational program, the company's valuation discussion could shift from "Will the drug work?" toward a considerably larger question of "What is the commercial and strategic value of a successful CNS therapy with a non-invasive intranasal delivery platform?"

NeOnc is also developing NEO212, which has completed Phase 1 and established a recommended Phase 2 dose of 610 mg, giving the company another clinical program beyond NEO100.

And Heshmatpour's own history of buying shares makes the latest transaction more notable. In April, he publicly described his conviction in NeOnc's long-term opportunity and disclosed more than $500,000 of purchases in connection with the company's first-quarter update.

Now, following the NEO100 Phase 2a readout, he is buying again, but when a company's CEO continues putting personal capital into the stock after a major clinical catalyst, especially while short positioning is elevated, the narrative becomes substantially more complicated for anyone betting exclusively on the downside.

For NTHI, the next chapter may therefore be less about whether NeOnc can generate attention and more about whether the combination of clinical validation, regulatory momentum, insider conviction and a crowded short trade can force the market to reprice the company before the shorts are ready.

This editorial is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Short squeezes are inherently unpredictable, and elevated short interest can increase volatility in either direction.

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such statements include statements regarding the Company's ability to grow its business and other statements that are not historical facts, including statements which may be accompanied by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, the Company's ability to continue as a going concern, general economic conditions, and other risk factors detailed in the Company's filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update such forward-looking statements except in accordance with applicable law.