Empery Asset Management LP Makes New $2.35 Million Investment in Surrozen, Inc. $SRZN

Key Points

• Empery Asset Management opened a new position in Surrozen, buying 103,974 shares worth about $2.35 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents about 2.1% of Empery’s portfolio and 1.21% of Surrozen.
• Insider selling was reported in May, with VP Yang Li and CEO Craig C. Parker both reducing their holdings. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought more shares than they sold overall, but the recent executive sales stand out.
• Surrozen recently reported a large quarterly loss, posting EPS of -$11.65 versus estimates of -$1.09, even though revenue of $5.0 million topped expectations. Analysts remain cautiously bullish overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $42.

Empery Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Surrozen, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRZN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 103,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,350,000. Surrozen makes up about 2.1% of Empery Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Empery Asset Management LP owned 1.21% of Surrozen at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRZN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Surrozen by 22.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,963 shares of the company's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 5,702 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Surrozen during the second quarter worth $536,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Surrozen by 21.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 266,418 shares of the company's stock worth $3,433,000 after acquiring an additional 47,468 shares in the last quarter. Acuta Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Surrozen by 5.0% in the third quarter. Acuta Capital Partners LLC now owns 178,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 8,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Surrozen in the third quarter valued at $889,000. 66.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Surrozen

In related news, VP Yang Li sold 1,584 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $52,794.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 17,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $573,809.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig C. Parker sold 4,524 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $150,784.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,711.49. This represents a 21.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 158,504 shares of company stock valued at $3,923,750 and have sold 8,144 shares valued at $271,440. Corporate insiders own 31.74% of the company's stock.

Surrozen Stock Performance

SRZN stock opened at $21.77 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.56. Surrozen, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.00 and a 52 week high of $35.00. The company has a market capitalization of $252.75 million, a PE ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 0.51.

Surrozen (NASDAQ:SRZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($11.65) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by ($10.56). Surrozen had a negative net margin of 4,810.50% and a negative return on equity of 4,055.04%. The business had revenue of $5.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.00 million. On average, analysts forecast that Surrozen, Inc. will post -7.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Surrozen in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Surrozen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Surrozen in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Surrozen in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Surrozen in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.00.

Surrozen Profile

Surrozen, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutic antibodies that target the Wnt signaling pathway for applications in tissue repair, regeneration and oncology. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company leverages its proprietary SurroBody platform to design bispecific antibody molecules capable of modulating Wnt receptor activity with enhanced tissue specificity.

The SurroBody platform enables the generation of high-affinity, dual-binding antibodies engineered to either activate or inhibit Wnt signaling, a pathway critical to cell proliferation, differentiation and homeostasis.

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