Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN)

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 7,501 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 3,294% compared to the typical daily volume of 221 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRDN. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $34.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viridian Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRDN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 33.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 130,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after buying an additional 14,788 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $179,000.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Down 26.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRDN opened at $13.90 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -4.22 and a beta of 1.16. Viridian Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $34.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 12.65 and a quick ratio of 12.65.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $0.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.75 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 483.57% and a negative return on equity of 83.25%. On average, research analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

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.