Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 133,046 Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased significantly: Squarepoint Ops raised its Viridian Therapeutics stake by 303% to 176,955 shares, while California State Teachers’ Retirement System, Perceptive Advisors, Morgan Stanley and others also expanded or initiated positions.
• Viridian reported a quarterly loss: The company posted adjusted EPS of negative $1.05, slightly missing analyst expectations, despite revenue of $0.28 million. Shares opened at $21.24, compared with a 52-week range of $13.18 to $34.29.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: Twelve analysts rate VRDN a Buy and one rates it a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.54, although an insider recently sold 14,212 shares.

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 303.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,955 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 133,046 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $3,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRDN. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Viridian Therapeutics by 1,972.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,679,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,034 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 805.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,738,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546,284 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viridian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,680,000. Finally, Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC purchased a new position in Viridian Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,306,000.

Insider Transactions at Viridian Therapeutics

In other Viridian Therapeutics news, insider Jennifer Tousignant sold 14,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $348,194.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VRDN opened at $21.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.34. The company has a quick ratio of 16.95, a current ratio of 16.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.18 and a twelve month high of $34.29. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 0.97.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $0.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.06 million. As a group, analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRDN. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wedbush boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viridian Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.54.

Viridian Therapeutics Company Profile

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for serious diseases involving the immune system. The company's primary focus is thyroid eye disease (TED), an autoimmune disorder that can cause inflammation, pain, swelling and vision-related complications.

Viridian's lead programs target the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), a pathway associated with TED. Its pipeline has included investigational therapies such as veligrotug (VRDN-001), an intravenous antibody designed to block IGF-1R, and subcutaneous formulations intended to provide more convenient administration.

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