Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.85, but opened at $21.01. Viridian Therapeutics shares last traded at $22.72, with a volume of 2,034,720 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRDN shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.67.

Viridian Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 18.55, a quick ratio of 18.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.95 and its 200-day moving average is $18.05.

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viridian Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRDN. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. DCF Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. DCF Advisers LLC now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 4,692 shares during 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.