Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Trading Up 7.9% – Here’s Why

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) shares traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.9440. Approximately 181,945 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,203,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRDN has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viridian Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.14.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 15.15, a current ratio of 15.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.10 and its 200-day moving average is $24.52. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of -5.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.06) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $0.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.04 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 80.19% and a negative net margin of 490.31%.The business’s revenue was up 95.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.87) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viridian Therapeutics

In other news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc acquired 1,176,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $19,999,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,090,928 shares in the company, valued at $86,545,776. This trade represents a 30.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viridian Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Viridian Therapeutics by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,612,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280,161 shares during the period. Commodore Capital LP grew its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 35.4% in the second quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,875,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,466,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,879,000 after purchasing an additional 912,394 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,439,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,042,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,303 shares in the last quarter.

About Viridian Therapeutics

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.