Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Stock Price Down 5.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Viridian Therapeutics shares fell 5.8% to $19.40 in Thursday trading, with volume down 88% from its average. The stock remains below its 50-day moving average of $22.04.
• Despite the decline, Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and one rates it a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.69.
• The clinical-stage biotechnology company missed its latest quarterly EPS estimate, reporting a loss of $1.05 per share versus the expected $1.03 loss, while continuing to develop antibody treatments for thyroid eye disease and other autoimmune conditions.

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 5.8% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $19.47 and last traded at $19.40. Approximately 253,603 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 2,084,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRDN. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Viridian Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viridian Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.69.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.56. The company has a quick ratio of 16.95, a current ratio of 16.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.71 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 the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $0.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.06 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 505.86% and a negative return on equity of 72.97%. As a group, research analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Tousignant sold 14,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total transaction of $348,194.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viridian Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRDN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Viridian Therapeutics by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 216,525 shares of the company's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,330 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 3,431 shares in the last quarter.

About Viridian Therapeutics

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: VRDN is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company's primary research centers on antibody-based medicines designed to target the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), a biological pathway associated with thyroid eye disease (TED).

Viridian's pipeline includes veligrotug, an investigational monoclonal antibody being developed for TED, as well as additional drug candidates intended to provide alternative dosing options and potentially address broader autoimmune conditions.

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