Surrozen, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRZN) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 51.9% in September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 51.9% in September to 2.20 million shares, representing approximately 27.7% of Surrozen’s outstanding shares and 12.7 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $48.33; HC Wainwright recently raised its target to $54 from $44.
• Surrozen reported quarterly revenue of $5.0 million and an adjusted loss of $0.41 per share, beating analyst expectations for $0.47 million in revenue and a $1.29-per-share loss.

Surrozen, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRZN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,195,505 shares, a growth of 51.9% from the August 31st total of 1,445,491 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 173,121 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.7 days. Approximately 27.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

Surrozen Trading Up 0.6%

SRZN opened at $32.18 on Thursday. Surrozen has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $37.83. The company has a market cap of $373.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 0.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $22.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.99.

Surrozen (NASDAQ:SRZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.29) by $0.88. The business had revenue of $5.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.47 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Surrozen will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Surrozen in a report on Friday, July 17th. William Blair began coverage on Surrozen in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised Surrozen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Surrozen in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Surrozen has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Surrozen news, major shareholder Tcg Crossover Gp Ii, Llc sold 325,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total transaction of $6,906,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 574,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,198,498.75. This represents a 36.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 31.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Surrozen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Surrozen during the 2nd quarter valued at $399,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Surrozen in the 1st quarter worth $6,682,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Surrozen in the first quarter valued at about $350,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Surrozen by 117.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 49,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 26,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eversept Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Surrozen by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 95,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 18,289 shares in the last quarter. 66.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Surrozen Company Profile

Surrozen, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing regenerative medicines designed to activate the Wnt signaling pathway. Wnt signaling plays an important role in tissue development, repair and regeneration, and Surrozen's approach is intended to stimulate the pathway selectively in specific tissues while limiting unwanted effects elsewhere in the body.

The company's product candidates are based on engineered antibody therapeutics and its proprietary SWEETS platform. Surrozen has focused its research on potential treatments for diseases affecting the liver, gastrointestinal system and eyes, where impaired tissue repair or abnormal signaling may contribute to disease progression.

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