Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.75.

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRDN shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Viridian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VRDN opened at $31.88 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.91 and a 200-day moving average of $21.90. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.56 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 11.28 and a current ratio of 11.28. Viridian Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $34.04.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $70.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.21 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 426.58% and a negative return on equity of 78.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 81993.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc purchased 454,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,990.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,914,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,118,076. This represents a 13.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRDN. Commodore Capital LP lifted its position 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 valued at $24,224,000 after purchasing an additional 851,989 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,201,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,922,000 after buying an additional 691,267 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 65.2% in the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 851,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,379,000 after buying an additional 336,040 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 33.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,231,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,595,000 after buying an additional 310,998 shares during the period.

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.