Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on Viridian from $42 to $30 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, a target the report says implies roughly a 116% upside from the current share price.
• Shares fell about 26.2% to open at $13.90 after Viridian missed quarterly expectations (EPS -$1.08 vs -$0.90 and revenue $0.13M vs $15.75M), underscoring steep negative margins and weak near-term results.
• Despite the pullback, major institutions (Perceptive, Morgan Stanley, Vanguard) increased holdings and the street consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $38.36.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 115.83% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viridian Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $41.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.36.

Viridian Therapeutics Trading Down 26.2%

Viridian Therapeutics stock opened at $13.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.22 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 12.65 and a current ratio of 12.65. Viridian Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $34.29.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.08) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $0.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.75 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 83.25% and a negative net margin of 483.57%. Analysts expect that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,042,703 shares of the company's stock worth $94,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,303 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 805.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,738,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546,284 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,680,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,612,144 shares of the company's stock worth $174,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280,161 shares during the period. Finally, Commodore Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,275,000 shares during the last quarter.

Viridian Therapeutics Company Profile

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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