Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) Receives Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $44.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 123.12% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VRDN. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.33.

Viridian Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ VRDN opened at $19.72 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 18.55 and a current ratio of 18.55. Viridian Therapeutics has a one year low of $11.40 and a one year high of $27.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 1.04.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $0.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.08 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Viridian Therapeutics news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc bought 1,600,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.75 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,445,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,608,993.75. The trade was a 86.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen F. Mahoney bought 21,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.33 per share, for a total transaction of $499,262.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,262. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 1,626,400 shares of company stock valued at $30,616,312 in the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viridian Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRDN. FMR LLC increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,183,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,424,000 after buying an additional 1,610,130 shares during the period. Novo Holdings A S increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Novo Holdings A S now owns 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,020,000 after buying an additional 900,000 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,307,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,036,000 after buying an additional 615,531 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 167.8% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 749,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,754,000 after buying an additional 469,804 shares during the period. Finally, Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC acquired a new position in Viridian Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,669,000.

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.