Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Viridian Therapeutics to “strong sell”, contrasting with a broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” from 13 Buy ratings and one Sell rating, with a $38.79 target price.
• VRDN opened at $18.92 after a reported 4.9% decline, well below its 52-week high of $34.29. The clinical-stage biotech continues to report losses, posting quarterly EPS of -$0.90 despite beating estimates.
• Insider and institutional activity was largely supportive: Fairmount Funds Management bought nearly 1.18 million shares, while investors including Perceptive Advisors and Vanguard increased their holdings.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Viridian Therapeutics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $39.00 price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Viridian Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.79.

Viridian Therapeutics Trading Down 4.9%

VRDN stock opened at $18.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 15.15 and a quick ratio of 15.15. Viridian Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $13.18 and a fifty-two week high of $34.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.70 and a beta of 0.90.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.16. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 80.19% and a negative net margin of 490.31%.The company had revenue of $0.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.87) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 95.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Viridian Therapeutics will post -3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viridian Therapeutics

In related news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc acquired 1,176,470 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.00 per share, with a total value of $19,999,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,090,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,545,776. The trade was a 30.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viridian Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,042,703 shares of the company's stock worth $94,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580,303 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,915,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,680,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,612,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $5,400,000.

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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