Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 126,618 Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management trimmed its stake in Viridian by 12.1%, selling 126,618 shares and leaving it with 922,767 shares (about a 0.97% stake worth $28.7 million at the time of the filing).
• Viridian posted a significant earnings miss (Q4 EPS -$1.08 vs. -$0.90 expected) and reported just $0.13 million in revenue for the quarter, leaving the company with very negative margins and large losses.
• Despite several recent target-price cuts from firms like RBC and Wells Fargo, analysts overall rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” (13 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with a consensus price target of $37.07, while the shares were trading around $13.48.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 922,767 shares of the company's stock after selling 126,618 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.97% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $28,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRDN. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 175,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 55,689 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 691,267 shares during the last quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $1,942,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 430.3% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 64,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 52,414 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 411.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 62,118 shares of the company's stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 49,981 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRDN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Viridian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective 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 lowered their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.07.

Viridian Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRDN opened at $13.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 1.16. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.76 and a 12 month high of $34.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.97. The company has a quick ratio of 12.65, a current ratio of 12.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 83.25% and a negative net margin of 483.57%.The firm had revenue of $0.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.75 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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