Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Viridian Therapeutics stake by 57.3% in the first quarter, selling 100,730 shares and retaining 75,200 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• Director Fairmount Funds Management purchased 1.18 million shares at $17 each, increasing its ownership by 30.05%; insiders now own 2.40% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 13 Buy ratings and one Sell rating producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.79. Viridian reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and 95.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 57.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,730 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 43,985 shares of the company's stock worth $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,337,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 23.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 1.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,233 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc bought 1,176,470 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.00 per share, for a total transaction of $19,999,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,090,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,545,776. This trade represents a 30.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VRDN shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Viridian Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viridian Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Evercore set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.79.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1%

Viridian Therapeutics stock opened at $19.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 15.15, a current ratio of 15.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.99 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.09. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.18 and a twelve month high of $34.29.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $0.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.04 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 80.19% and a negative net margin of 490.31%.The business's revenue was up 95.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.87) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 earnings per share 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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