Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from 15 analysts (13 buy, 1 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of $37.07 versus the stock's recent open near $13.42.
• Multiple brokers (HC Wainwright, Wedbush, Truist, Goldman Sachs, Needham) have recently lowered price targets but largely kept buy/outperform ratings, signaling tempered optimism.
• Large institutional investors (Vanguard, Commodore, State Street, Price T. Rowe, Perceptive) have materially increased positions even as Viridian reported a significant quarterly EPS and revenue miss and remains unprofitable (negative margins; expected -3.79 EPS for the year).

Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.0714.

VRDN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $34.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viridian Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,612,144 shares of the company's stock worth $174,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280,161 shares during the period. Commodore Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,875,000 shares of the company's stock worth $68,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,466,560 shares of the company's stock worth $107,879,000 after purchasing an additional 912,394 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,439,414 shares of the company's stock worth $107,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,310 shares during the period. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 108.1% during the 4th 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.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRDN opened at $13.42 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $22.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.01. Viridian Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $11.76 and a 1-year high of $34.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 12.65 and a quick ratio of 12.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.08 and a beta of 0.82.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.18). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 483.57% and a negative return on equity of 83.25%. The firm had revenue of $0.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.75 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viridian Therapeutics will post -3.79 EPS for the current year.

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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