Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.93, but opened at $18.13. Viridian Therapeutics shares last traded at $17.21, with a volume of 372,489 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRDN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Viridian Therapeutics from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Viridian Therapeutics from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Viridian Therapeutics from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viridian Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.70.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 18.55 and a quick ratio of 18.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.05.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by ($0.04). Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 70.12% and a negative net margin of 85,127.16%. The business had revenue of $0.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.08 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viridian Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Stephen F. Mahoney acquired 21,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.33 per share, with a total value of $499,262.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 21,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,262. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas W. Beetham bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.41 per share, for a total transaction of $117,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,460. This represents a 500.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viridian Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Viridian Therapeutics by 344.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 4,692 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $149,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 108.3% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares in the last quarter.

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.