Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $3.97 Million Position in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies acquired 203,100 Viridian Therapeutics shares worth approximately $3.97 million, representing about 0.20% of the company. Other institutional investors also initiated or increased positions.
• Insider confidence increased after Fairmount Funds Management purchased 1.18 million shares for nearly $20 million, boosting its position by 30.05%; insiders collectively own 2.40% of Viridian.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.93 versus the stock’s reported $23.59 price, despite Viridian missing its latest earnings estimate and continuing to post losses.

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 203,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,973,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.20% of Viridian Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Viridian Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $52,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $93,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc acquired 1,176,470 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $19,999,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,090,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,545,776. This trade represents a 30.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VRDN stock opened at $23.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.00 and a beta of 0.91. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.18 and a 12-month high of $34.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $18.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.67. The company has a current ratio of 15.15, a quick ratio of 15.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.02). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 76.65% and a negative net margin of 505.86%.The business had revenue of $0.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.06 million. Analysts expect that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRDN. Evercore set a $26.00 price objective on Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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