Here’s why Surrozen shares are up more than 50% on Tuesday

Almost a month after Surrozen Inc (NASDAQ: SRZN) completed its business combination with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Consonance-HFW Acquisition Corp, Stifel assumed coverage of the biotechnology company with a “buy” rating.

Shares of the company jumped more than 50% on the news this morning and are now exchanging hands at $11.

Stifel has a price target of $19 on SRZN

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On Tuesday, Stifel analyst Dae Gon Ha disclosed $19 as his price target on SRZN that represents another 75% increase from here. The California-based company is currently valued at $426 million.

“Surrozen has two proprietary technology platforms, and it seeks to either activate or amplify wingless/integrated signalling to engender clinical benefit. With lead programs SZN-1326 in moderate-severe ulcerative colitis and SZN-043 in severe alcoholic hepatitis, proof of concept may emerge from Phase 1b patient studies,” the analyst wrote.

Earlier this year in July, Surrozen said its SZN-1326 showed superior activity in preclinical inflammatory bowel disease. It will now start its first-in-human clinical trial next year.

Regenerative antibodies for tissue repair

Surrozen is pioneering a new class of targeted regenerative antibodies to repair a broad range of tissues and restore organs damaged by serious disease via selectively activating the in-built Wnt pathway.

Upon completion of the SPAC merger last month, CEO Craig Parker who is continuing to lead the joint company, said:

“We have long known the promise of the Wnt pathway as the body’s own mechanism for tissue repair, but harnessing its promise for therapeutic applications remained out of reach for drug developers until recently. We believe Surrozen has the potential to finally unlock it and transform treatment of multiple serious diseases. The capital raised from the SPAC merger and our strategy to accelerate the development of our innovative programs, will help us bring this vision to life.”