Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viridian Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Viridian Therapeutics from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viridian Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.31.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRDN opened at $30.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 11.28 and a quick ratio of 11.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.77. Viridian Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $34.04.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $70.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.21 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 426.58% and a negative return on equity of 78.50%. Viridian Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 81993.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc purchased 454,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,914,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,118,076. This trade represents a 13.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Tousignant sold 2,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.16, for a total value of $70,795.52. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viridian Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 46.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 175,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,782,000 after buying an additional 55,689 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 136,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 76,844 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 245,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,303,000 after purchasing an additional 14,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 314.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,122,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,224,000 after purchasing an additional 851,989 shares during the last quarter.

Viridian Therapeutics Company Profile

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRDN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of targeted antibody therapeutics for patients suffering from rare and serious diseases. The company’s lead program, VRDN-001, is a fully human monoclonal antibody that antagonizes the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), with an initial focus on thyroid eye disease (TED). By selectively inhibiting IGF-1R signaling, VRDN-001 aims to reduce inflammation and tissue remodeling associated with TED and related disorders.

In addition to VRDN-001, Viridian is advancing a second antibody program, VRDN-002, which targets complement-mediated pathways implicated in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.