Wall Street Zen Upgrades Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) to "Sell"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Viridian Therapeutics from “strong sell” to “sell,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 12 Buy ratings and one Sell rating and an average price target of $38.69.
• Viridian shares opened at $20.47, well below the 12-month high of $34.29. The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.05 per share, slightly worse than estimates, and continues to post significant negative margins.
• The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing immune-system treatments focused primarily on thyroid eye disease, including therapies targeting the IGF-1R pathway.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

VRDN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Viridian Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.69.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRDN opened at $20.47 on Friday. Viridian Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $13.18 and a twelve month high of $34.29. The company has a current ratio of 16.95, a quick ratio of 16.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of -6.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.95 and its 200 day moving average is $19.81.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $0.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.06 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 505.86% and a negative return on equity of 72.97%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Tousignant sold 14,212 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $348,194.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRDN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 303.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 176,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 133,046 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 19.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 3,431 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 40.1% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 46,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 13,321 shares during the period.

Viridian Therapeutics Company Profile

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for serious diseases involving the immune system. The company's primary focus is thyroid eye disease (TED), an autoimmune disorder that can cause inflammation, pain, swelling and vision-related complications.

Viridian's lead programs target the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), a pathway associated with TED. Its pipeline has included investigational therapies such as veligrotug (VRDN-001), an intravenous antibody designed to block IGF-1R, and subcutaneous formulations intended to provide more convenient administration.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.