Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 5.61 million shares worth about $174.7 million, or roughly 5.88% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with multiple firms maintaining Buy ratings and several price-target cuts still leaving the consensus target around $37.31 per share.
• Viridian reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of $0.90 per share and revenue of $0.14 million, but the company also completed a $350 million financing deal that may pressure the stock through dilution concerns.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,612,144 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,280,161 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.88% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $174,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commodore Capital LP increased its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 35.4% during the second quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,875,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,152,000 after buying an additional 1,275,000 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 33.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,231,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,595,000 after buying an additional 310,998 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 135.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,201,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,922,000 after buying an additional 691,267 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 314.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,122,532 shares of the company's stock worth $24,224,000 after purchasing an additional 851,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosalind Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 17.6% in the second quarter. Rosalind Advisors Inc. now owns 700,000 shares of the company's stock worth $9,786,000 after purchasing an additional 105,000 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRDN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Viridian Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wedbush reduced their target price on Viridian Therapeutics from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.31.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VRDN opened at $16.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -5.00 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 15.15 and a quick ratio of 15.15. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.07 and a 1-year high of $34.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $21.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.94.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $0.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.04 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 490.31% and a negative return on equity of 80.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 95.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.87) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.62 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Viridian Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Viridian Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its earnings estimates across several future periods, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028, FY2029 and FY2030, while keeping a Buy rating and a $22 price target, suggesting improving longer-term outlook for Viridian Therapeutics.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reiterated its Buy rating on Viridian Therapeutics, adding to the recent cluster of bullish analyst support. Viridian Therapeutics' (VRDN) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple brokerage updates lifted target prices on VRDN, with one report citing an average target of about $37.07, reflecting continued optimism from analysts. Brokerages Set Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. NASDAQ: VRDN Target Price at $37.07
• Negative Sentiment: Viridian Therapeutics completed pricing on an upsized concurrent offering of 1.75% convertible senior notes due 2032 and common stock for $350 million, which can dilute existing shareholders and usually weighs on the stock near term. Viridian Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Upsized Concurrent Public Offerings...
• Negative Sentiment: Market articles also highlighted the financing as a key reason for recent volatility, even as investors look ahead to commercialization of its drug pipeline. Viridian (VRDN) Climbs 33% on Looming Drug Commercialization

About Viridian Therapeutics

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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