Honestly, if you’ve been following the SAVA stock price today, you know it’s not just a ticker on a screen; it’s basically a high-stakes psychological experiment. As of January 18, 2026, the market is digesting a flurry of news that has kept Cassava Sciences in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons—and a few intriguing right ones.
The stock closed the last trading session around $2.04, reflecting a gritty struggle to maintain ground after a brutal 52-week range that saw it swing from a low of $1.15 to nearly $5.00.
The Reality of the Simufilam Setback
Everyone is talking about the clinical trials. You can't ignore the elephant in the room: the Phase 3 results for simufilam in Alzheimer’s disease. Just a few days ago, on January 13, 2026, the company published detailed results from their RETHINK-ALZ and REFOCUS-ALZ studies in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (JPAD).
It wasn't the "miracle cure" news investors hoped for. The studies failed to meet their pre-specified co-primary, secondary, or even exploratory biomarker endpoints. Basically, the drug didn't do what it was officially supposed to do in those specific trials.
Yet, the company is leaning hard into the "favorable safety profile." They’re looking at post-hoc analyses—basically searching for specific subgroups of patients where the drug might have worked—to keep the hope alive. Whether you buy that or see it as "data mining" depends entirely on your risk tolerance.
The $31.25 Million Legal Hangover
Money is moving out of the vault. This month, January 2026, Cassava is scheduled to deposit $31.25 million into an escrow account to settle a massive securities class action lawsuit. This settlement, reached in late December 2025, covers investors who got burned between 2020 and 2023.
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While settling helps clear the "legal overhang" that has haunted the board for years, it’s a massive chunk of change. The company's cash position at the end of 2025 was estimated between $92 million and $96 million. Losing thirty million in one go is a heavy hit for a biotech that isn't generating any revenue yet.
Then there's the FDA.
On December 19, 2025, the FDA slapped a full clinical hold on their proposed trial for simufilam in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC)-related epilepsy. The agency wants more preclinical data and a modified protocol. This effectively killed the plan to start that trial in the first half of 2026.
What the Analysts Are Thinking
Wall Street is split, but the "Reduce" or "Sell" side is getting louder.
- MarketBeat notes a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a price target hovering right around $2.00.
- H.C. Wainwright remains the outlier, with some analysts still holding onto astronomical price targets of $100+, but most of the market is treating those as relics of a different era.
- WallStreetZen shows an average 1-year target of $8.00, but their own quantitative models label the stock a "Hold."
Why the Insider Buying Matters
If the news is so mediocre, why is the CEO still buying?
Rick Barry, the current CEO, executed significant off-market and open-market purchases throughout late 2025. Typically, when a CEO spends their own cash on a stock that's trading near its 52-week lows, they're sending a signal. They see something the public doesn't—or they're trying to project confidence during a storm.
You’ve got to decide if you trust the person at the helm or the data in the journal.
Actionable Insights for SAVA Investors
Watching the SAVA stock price today requires a stomach of steel. If you’re holding or looking to enter, here is the "non-corporate" reality of the situation.
First, stop waiting for a sudden "moon" shot based on Alzheimer's data. The Phase 3 failure is public and peer-reviewed. Any future movement there will likely be slow and based on long-term regulatory discussions, not a surprise press release.
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Second, keep your eyes on the FDA clinical hold for the epilepsy trial. This is the new frontier for Cassava. If they can provide the data the FDA wants and get that hold lifted, it provides a "Plan B" for the drug that isn't tied to the complicated Alzheimer's landscape.
Lastly, track the cash. With the $31.25 million settlement leaving the balance sheet this month, the company's "runway"—how long they can survive without raising more money—has shortened. If they announce a new stock offering (dilution) to raise cash, the price could see further downward pressure.
Manage your position size. This isn't a "widows and orphans" stock; it's a binary bet on a controversial molecule.