Azitra Inc. (NYSE:AZTR) shares are trending on Friday.

AZTR surged 44.24% in after-hours trading on Thursday to $0.25.

The clinical-stage company announced a securities purchase agreement with healthcare-focused institutional investors for gross proceeds of up to $31.4 million.

What is the Deal Structure?

According to Azitra, the SPA includes initial gross proceeds of approximately $10.5 million, with up to an additional $20.9 million tied to potential warrant exercises.

Azitra stated that investors, including Stonepine Capital, Nantahala Capital and company insiders such as the company's CEO, are buying Series A convertible preferred stock at $1,000 per share, along with Series B and C warrants exercisable at $0.123 per share of common stock.

The transaction is expected to close on or around Friday, Azitra noted.

Azitra said it will use initial net proceeds for research and development, general corporate expenses and working capital needs.

Filaggrin Tech Eyes a $3.7B Cosmeceutical Market

The financing is intended to accelerate Azitra’s filaggrin protein and peptide platform for the cosmeceutical market.

Azitra's filaggrin protein and peptide platform leverages engineered Staphylococcus epidermidis to provide therapeutic proteins for addressing skin barrier dysfunction.

The biotech-oriented cosmetic ingredients market reached $2.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $3.7 billion by 2030, according to the company.

CEO Francisco Salva said the technology offers “an exciting new way to address the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as dry sensitive skin and eczema-like rashes,” adding that research over the last two decades has shown such conditions are commonly driven by a physical barrier deficiency caused by insufficient filaggrin protein.

Trading Metrics, Technical Analysis

Azitra has a market capitalization of $2.78 million, with a 52-week high of $2.66 and a 52-week low of $0.10.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) of the Connecticut-based company stands at 46.25.

The small-cap stock has dropped 91.92% over the past year.

AZTR is currently trading near its annual low.

The stock's ongoing decline and current positioning indicate that any potential recovery would need clear confirmation before investors act.

Price Action: AZTR had gained 28.82% during the regular session on Thursday, closing at $0.18, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AZTR has a negative price trend across all time frames.

Photo Courtesy: FabrikaSimf on Shutterstock.com

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.