Black billionaire Herriot Tabuteau sells $11.97 million in Axsome shares as stock trades near all-time highs

Herriot Tabuteau, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Axsome Therapeutics and one of only 27 Black billionaires confirmed by Forbes globally, sold 49,670 shares of company stock on June 9, 2026, at an average price of $241.01 per share, generating total proceeds of $11,970,966.70, according to a Form 4 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

The transaction was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 pre-approved trading plan, a legal instrument that allows corporate insiders to schedule share sales in advance during a period when they do not possess material non-public information. The plan executes automatically at pre-set parameters regardless of subsequent company developments, meaning the sale carries no implication of a negative outlook on Axsome's near-term prospects.

Following the transaction, Tabuteau directly holds 7,229 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock, valued at approximately $1.74 million at the June 9 closing price of $245.64. He indirectly holds an additional 7,344,500 shares through an entity in which he holds voting and dispositive power, giving him a total economic position in the company that remains substantial despite the open-market sale.

Axsome Therapeutics shares have appreciated significantly over the past 12 months. The stock closed at $245.64 on June 9, representing a meaningful gain from the $79.19 52-week low and approaching the $184.40 52-week high recorded at the top of the range. The company's market capitalisation at current prices stands at approximately $8.45 billion.

The June 9 sale is the latest in a pattern of planned disposals by Tabuteau. He sold 78,703 shares on January 5, 2026, at an average price of $171.28 for total proceeds of $13.48 million. He sold a further 29,450 shares on January 6 at $172.33 for $5.07 million and 31,261 shares on January 7 at $170.38 for $5.33 million. In December 2025, he sold three tranches totalling 79,973 shares for approximately $11.6 million. Each of these transactions was executed under the same pre-approved 10b5-1 plan structure and linked to the exercise of stock options approaching their expiration date.

Axsome Therapeutics is a New York-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of central nervous system disorders. Its commercial portfolio includes AUVELITY, approved for major depressive disorder and currently in late-stage development for Alzheimer's disease agitation, and SUNOSI, approved for excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnoea. The company reported total revenues of approximately $171 million for the third quarter of 2025, ahead of consensus estimates, and has been executing a significant commercial expansion including a national direct-to-consumer advertising campaign for AUVELITY and a sales force expansion into new markets.

Tabuteau co-founded Axsome in 2012 and has led it from a pre-revenue development stage company to a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical enterprise with a market capitalisation exceeding $8 billion. He is one of the few Black founders in the biotechnology sector to have built a company of this scale to public markets, and one of the rarest of that group to have reached Forbes billionaire status. His estimated net worth, anchored primarily in his indirect shareholding of 7.34 million Axsome shares, was assessed by GuruFocus at a minimum of $1.2 billion as of early 2026 based on his SEC-reported holdings.