Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $28.86 and last traded at $28.43, with a volume of 1986131 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viridian Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viridian Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.78.

Viridian Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.77. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.44 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 11.01 and a quick ratio of 11.01.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by $0.48. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 112,806.88% and a negative return on equity of 78.95%. The firm had revenue of $0.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.21 million. The business’s revenue was up 81993.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc purchased 454,545 shares of Viridian Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,914,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,118,076. This trade represents a 13.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viridian Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Viridian Therapeutics by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 208,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,815,000 after acquiring an additional 30,392 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $248,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 89,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 31,323 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 318,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,453 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $526,000.

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.