Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. $VRDN Position Lowered by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 9.3% in the first quarter, selling 73,359 shares and leaving it with 711,739 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat, with 13 analysts rating the stock a Buy and only one Sell; the average target price is $38.79, well above the recent trading level.
• Viridian reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting a smaller-than-expected loss per share and stronger revenue growth year over year, while a company director also made a large insider purchase of 1.18 million shares at $17 each.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 711,739 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,359 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.69% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $13,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $176,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Viridian Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $34.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Thirteen 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.79.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRDN opened at $19.74 on Monday. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.18 and a 12-month high of $34.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.95 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 15.15 and a quick ratio of 15.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.30.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 80.19% and a negative net margin of 490.31%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 95.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.87) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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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