Panagora Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. has increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 40.2%, owning approximately 354,739 shares worth $4.78 million as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Viridian Therapeutics has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, with shares currently trading at $18.38 and a P/E ratio of -4.80.
• Analysts generally have a positive outlook on Viridian, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.78.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 40.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,739 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 101,717 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.43% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $4,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 49.7% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 3,892.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,214 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $185,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 146.4% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 21,131 shares of the company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 12,556 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRDN shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.78.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRDN traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $18.72. 799,775 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 850,923. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -4.89 and a beta of 0.53. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.90 and a 12 month high of $27.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 11.01 and a quick ratio of 11.01.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.00). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 112,806.88% and a negative return on equity of 78.95%. The company had revenue of $0.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.81) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About Viridian Therapeutics

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc, a biotechnology company, discover and develops treatments for serious and rare diseases. The company's product pipeline includes VRDN-001, a monoclonal antibody targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor that is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED); and VRDN-003, a next generation IGF-1R humanized monoclonal antibodies targeting IGF-1R and incorporating half-life extension technology for the treatment of TED.