New York, May 20, 2026, 18:04 EDT
- KALA last traded at $2.65, up 9 cents from the previous close, with light volume.
- The stock is trading less than two weeks after a 1-for-50 reverse split meant to help it meet Nasdaq’s bid-price rules.
- The company isn’t focused only on eye drugs anymore. Now it’s working to set up an AI infrastructure business in biotech.
KALA Bio shares moved higher Wednesday, stretching a volatile streak for the small biotech. The company finished a big reverse stock split and told investors it’s leaning harder into an artificial intelligence platform aimed at life-science companies.
The stock traded at $2.65, up 9 cents, after moving in a range from $2.53 to $2.85. Volume was 88,886 shares. The thin trading can make moves bigger in small caps.
U.S. stocks were up. The S&P 500 gained 1.1%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.5% and the Russell 2000 rallied 2.6%. Lower bond yields and falling oil prices gave support, according to the Associated Press.
KALA shares are now split-adjusted after a 1-for-50 reverse split. The move reduces outstanding shares and sends the stock price higher per share, but investor ownership stays the same, aside from any cash paid for fractions.
KALA said in a filing on May 7 it did a 1-for-50 reverse split, effective May 8. Shares began trading on the split-adjusted basis May 11. Outstanding common shares dropped from roughly 929.5 million to about 18.6 million, the company said.
Nasdaq is what’s pushing the issue now. KALA said it’s back in line with the exchange’s $35 million market-cap requirement, but the company also got another warning about the $1 minimum bid price. It did the reverse split to address that.
KALA’s operating focus is shifting. In its latest quarterly filing, the company said it is now working to monetize or out-license its remaining biologics assets. KALA is also planning the development and commercialization of Researgency, its agentic AI platform. The software is built to handle multi-step research tasks with less human input.
KALA shifted direction after a tough outcome. The CHASE Phase 2b test of KPI-012 in persistent corneal epithelial defect, where the cornea struggles to heal, failed its primary endpoint last year. The company decided to halt work on KPI-012 and save cash. Kim Brazzell, then R&D chief and medical officer, said the drug was tolerated but “did not demonstrate the efficacy results” needed for front-of-the-eye diseases. BioSpace
KALA chief executive Avi Minkowitz said in March that the company’s first Bionic Intelligence Research Agent was now running, describing it as “not a demo” but a real, enterprise product working in private infrastructure. The company hasn’t reported widespread customer use or steady revenue from the platform yet, but the statement adds a new commercial milestone for investors to track. GlobeNewswire
KALA’s balance sheet is thin. Cash and cash equivalents came in at $1.8 million, with another $7.0 million in short-term investments at the end of March. Total current assets were $12.3 million.
KALA’s Q1 loss came in at $1.6 million, better than the $8.9 million loss a year ago. Lower spending after the drug-development cutbacks helped. That gives the company a little breathing room, but there’s still not much margin for mistakes.
Eye-disease biotech stocks traded mixed. EyePoint added 67 cents to $12.50. Ocular Therapeutix gained 4 cents to $8.03. Aldeyra was little changed at $1.55. KALA’s jump came as smaller healthcare stocks saw some risk appetite, not just from company news.
The reverse split might fix KALA’s quote-price issue but doesn’t change the core business challenge. KALA has yet to show Researgency can land real biotech or pharma clients. The company also needs to monetize its leftover biologics assets, and it’s not clear if new financing rounds will keep hitting shareholders.
