Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 142,410 Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. by 34.7%, owning 552,850 shares worth $7.45 million after purchasing an additional 142,410 shares in the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Deep Track Capital, significantly boosted their positions in Viridian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter, reflecting growing interest in the company.
• Viridian Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.87) EPS, surpassing estimates, and had a market cap of $1.41 billion, with analysts expecting a price target average of $37.56.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 34.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 552,850 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 142,410 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.68% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $7,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 49.7% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,531 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 198.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 681,012 shares of the company's stock worth $13,055,000 after buying an additional 452,627 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 208,836 shares of the company's stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 30,392 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,595,049 shares of the company's stock worth $88,087,000 after buying an additional 174,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 104,559 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 4,621 shares during the last quarter.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of VRDN traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 232,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,737. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $27.20. The company has a quick ratio of 19.49, a current ratio of 19.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.61 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.25 and a 200 day moving average of $15.22.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $0.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.16 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 70.61% and a negative net margin of 102,092.39%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRDN. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JMP Securities cut their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viridian Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.56.

Viridian Therapeutics Company Profile

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc, a biotechnology company, discover and develops treatments for serious and rare diseases. The company's product pipeline includes VRDN-001, a monoclonal antibody targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor that is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED); and VRDN-003, a next generation IGF-1R humanized monoclonal antibodies targeting IGF-1R and incorporating half-life extension technology for the treatment of TED.