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HCW Biologics

HCWB on Nasdaq. Market value $3m.

Watch this stockFree. We tell you when something changes.

Should I look at this?

Look carefully before going further

Why it could be worth it

Nothing stands out yet.

What to watch out for

Read the warning sign in its own filings

This is not advice.

Compare with another stock

Who owns it

None of the long-term investors we follow own it. 12 funds in all.

Jun '26
Largest holders overall

From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

Big holders and activists

2 investors own more than 5%.

  • Hing C. Wong, Ph.D.
    Insider or founder
    23.4%
    Since 15 May 2025
    What they said

    Clean up the balance sheet through extinguishment of debt for equity.

    Read the filing
  • Armistice Capital, LLC
    Passive investor
    at least 5.0%−5.0 pts
    (filed with 1 related holder)
    Since 31 March 2026

From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.

What insiders did

In the last 12 months, 4 insiders bought $531,523 of shares on the open market.

Cluster buy3 insiders bought within 30 days (29 July 2026 to 29 July 2026).
  • Wong Hing C
    Chief Executive Officer, Director
    Bought
    Date
    29 July 2026
    Shares
    23,210
    Price
    $2.58
    Value
    $59,998
  • Flowers Lee
    SVP of Business Development
    Bought
    Date
    29 July 2026
    Shares
    7,736
    Price
    $2.58
    Value
    $19,998
  • GARRETT SCOTT T
    Director
    Bought
    Date
    29 July 2026
    Shares
    7,736
    Price
    $2.58
    Value
    $19,998
  • Wong Hing C
    Chief Executive Officer, Director
    Bought
    Date
    22 May 2026
    Shares
    113,879
    Price
    $1.41
    Value
    $160,569
  • GARRETT SCOTT T
    Director
    Bought
    Date
    22 May 2026
    Shares
    177,936
    Price
    $1.41
    Value
    $250,890
  • Byam Rebecca
    Chief Financial Officer
    Bought
    Date
    22 May 2026
    Shares
    14,235
    Price
    $1.41
    Value
    $20,071

From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.

Warning signs in its filings

Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.

3 serious warning signs in HCW Biologics’ filings.

We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.

We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 31 Mar 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 14 Aug 2026 and 18 later 8-Ks.

  • Doubt it can keep going

    Serious

    The company or its auditor warned it may not have enough money to last the next year.

    “These factors raise substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
    Show the full paragraph
    As of June 30, 2026, the Company had not generated any revenue from commercial product sales of its internally developed immunotherapeutic products. During its development activities, the Company has sustained operating losses, experienced negative operating cash flows and negative working capital position and expects to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. Since inception to June 30, 2026, the Company incurred cumulative net losses of $ 107.5 million. These factors raise substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

    From the 10-Q filed 14 August 2026, Part I, Item 1. Financial Statements. Read it in the filing

  • Weak checks on its own accounts

    Serious

    The company said its checks on its own accounts did not work at the end of its latest quarter. Mistakes could slip into the numbers.

    “Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at the reasonable assurance level as of June 30, 2026.”
    Show the full paragraph
    As of June 30, 2026, our management, with participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a – 15(e) under the Exchange Act). In prior reporting periods, two material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting (described below) were identified and have not yet been remediated. Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at the reasonable assurance level as of June 30, 2026.

    From the 10-Q filed 14 August 2026, Part I, Item 4. Controls and Procedures. Read it in the filing

  • Its past accounts can't be relied on

    Serious

    It told the SEC its earlier accounts should no longer be relied on, usually because they contained errors.

    8-K Item 4.02 filed 14 Aug 2026: the company said its earlier financial statements should no longer be relied on.

    From an 8-K filed 14 August 2026: Previously issued accounts should no longer be relied on. Open the filing

  • Changed auditor

    Worth knowing

    The company changed its auditor (the firm that checks its books) in the last two years.

    Cover page of the 10-K filed 31 Mar 2026: it names a different audit firm from the one named in the annual report before.

    From the cover page of the 10-K filed 31 March 2026. Open the filing

A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.

The deep dive

Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.

  • What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
  • Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
  • The three things that would make this a mistake
  • Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
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What a finished deep dive looks like

Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.