93,414 Shares in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN Purchased by Merck & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Merck & Co. acquired 93,414 Viridian Therapeutics shares during the second quarter, reportedly valued at approximately $1.716 billion and representing 0.09% of Viridian’s outstanding stock.
• Institutional interest increased, with Perceptive Advisors more than doubling its position and Vanguard raising its stake by 29.6%. Viridian shares opened at $23.09, compared with a 52-week range of $13.18 to $34.29.
• Viridian missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $1.05 per share versus the $1.03 consensus estimate. Despite ongoing losses, analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $38.93.

Merck & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 93,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,716,015,000. Viridian Therapeutics accounts for 0.3% of Merck & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Merck & Co. Inc. owned 0.09% of Viridian Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRDN. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its position 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. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $35,915,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viridian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $46,680,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Viridian Therapeutics by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,612,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,650,000 after buying an additional 1,280,161 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,163,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,760,000 after buying an additional 173,498 shares in the last quarter.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VRDN opened at $23.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 0.91. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.16. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.18 and a 1-year high of $34.29.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by ($0.02). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 72.97% and a negative net margin of 505.86%.The firm had revenue of $0.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.06 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VRDN shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.93.

Viridian Therapeutics 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.

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