Surrozen, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRZN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Surrozen surged to 709,757 shares as of June 30, up 105.1% from mid-June, with about 9.0% of the float sold short and a short-interest ratio of 3.1 days.
• The stock traded at $21.86, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of about $25.27 and $25.30, respectively, after recent earnings showed a much larger-than-expected loss of $11.65 per share despite $5.0 million in revenue.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed but lean positive overall, with a Moderate Buy average rating and a $42.00 price target, even as some firms recently downgraded the stock and insiders sold shares in recent months.

Surrozen, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRZN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 709,757 shares, a growth of 105.1% from the June 15th total of 346,034 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 229,914 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Surrozen Stock Performance

SRZN traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $21.86. 105,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,256. The stock's fifty day moving average is $25.27 and its 200-day moving average is $25.30. Surrozen has a 12 month low of $8.20 and a 12 month high of $35.00. The company has a market cap of $253.79 million, a PE ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 0.51.

Surrozen (NASDAQ:SRZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($11.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by ($10.56). The business had revenue of $5.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Surrozen will post -7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Surrozen news, COO Charles O. Williams sold 2,036 shares of Surrozen stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total value of $67,859.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 16,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $552,311.43. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Yang Li sold 1,584 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $52,794.72. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $573,809.28. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,144 shares of company stock worth $271,440. Company insiders own 31.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Surrozen

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Surrozen by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Surrozen during the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its position in Surrozen by 32.8% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,875 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 3,424 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Surrozen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $247,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Surrozen by 22.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 5,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Surrozen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Surrozen in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Surrozen in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research cut Surrozen from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Surrozen in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Surrozen currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.00.

About Surrozen

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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