Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Viridian Therapeutics experienced heightened trading volume after Oppenheimer raised its price target from $32.00 to $36.00, reflecting a strong analyst sentiment with an outperform rating.
• Institutional investors are showing increased interest, with several hedge funds significantly boosting their stakes in the company recently.
• Despite positive analyst ratings, Viridian Therapeutics' stock is currently down 8.5% and reported a negative earnings per share of ($1.00) for the last quarter.

Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $36.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Approximately 1,744,989 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 98% from the previous session's volume of 883,163 shares.The stock last traded at $22.21 and had previously closed at $24.02.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viridian Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 49.7% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,531 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 332.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 3,892.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,214 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $147,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $170,000.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Down 8.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 11.01, a current ratio of 11.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company's fifty day moving average is $19.95 and its 200-day moving average is $16.48. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of -5.75 and a beta of 0.49.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($1.00). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 112,806.88% and a negative return on equity of 78.95%. The company had revenue of $0.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.81) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

About Viridian Therapeutics

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.

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