Surmodics upgraded to Buy from Hold at Lake Street

Lake Street analyst Brooks O’Neil upgraded Surmodics (SRDX) to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target of $43. The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block GTCR’s pending acquisition of Surmodics, alleging that the deal is anticompetitive, notes the analyst, who believes the company is worth $43 per share “with or without” an acquisition. While the firm did not expect the FTC to oppose the merger, and it has no opinion on how the court may rule, it believes that it is likely that GTCR will pay Surmodics $50M in cash if the deal does not close because it is blocked by regulators and the court, the analyst added.