Benchmark Keeps Buy on Securitize at $16 After SEC OKs Merger

Benchmark Equity Research kept a Buy rating on Securitize and a $16 price target after the SEC declared effective the registration statement for the company’s planned merger with Cantor Equity Partners II. The filing clears a regulatory step ahead of a June 29 shareholder vote that would let the combined company list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SECZ if approved and closing conditions are met.

Analyst Mark Palmer wrote that the effective filing and the scheduled vote could lead to a listing within days if shareholders approve the merger and customary closing conditions are satisfied. Benchmark tied the $16 target to a forecast of $178 million in revenue for Securitize in 2027 and linked the timing to increased commercial adoption of tokenization infrastructure.

Benchmark described Securitize’s regulatory permissions as a competitive differentiator. The company operates as an SEC-registered broker-dealer, an SEC-regulated alternative trading system, an SEC-registered transfer agent, an exempt reporting adviser and a fund administration affiliate in the United States. It also holds a regulated trading and settlement license under the EU DLT Pilot Regime.

The research note pointed to partnerships and client engagements. Securitize serves as tokenization platform, transfer agent and placement agent for BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, which Benchmark reported has grown to about $2.46 billion in assets since its March 2024 launch. BlackRock also selected Securitize to support a proposed Daily Reinvestment Stablecoin Reserve Vehicle.

In late April, Securitize announced a partnership with Computershare to support U.S.-listed clients issuing equity securities in tokenized form. Benchmark highlighted VanEck’s Securitize-issued Treasury fund going live on the DeFi lending platform Euler in late May as an example of tokenized assets being used in decentralized finance.

As of March 31, Securitize held about $3.4 billion in tokenized assets under management. Benchmark reported the broader tokenized asset market had grown to more than $30 billion, nearly triple the size it was a year earlier.

Benchmark identified risks to its outlook, including regulatory uncertainty, the pace of adoption by institutional and retail clients, and reliance on strategic partners. The SEC’s effective declaration removes one regulatory step for the merger, but shareholder approval and other closing conditions remain necessary before the company can begin trading as a public entity.

Palmer wrote, “On that question, Securitize has separated itself from the field, in our view.”