Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) Short Interest Up 28.9% in December

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,050,000 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the December 15th total of 9,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRDN. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viridian Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Viridian Therapeutics by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 210,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,043,000 after buying an additional 13,498 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 218.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 400,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,108,000 after purchasing an additional 274,641 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 1,603.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 172,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 162,665 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viridian Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $8,917,000. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $3,968,000.

Viridian Therapeutics Price Performance

VRDN opened at $17.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 18.55 and a current ratio of 18.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.99. Viridian Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $11.40 and a 52-week high of $27.20.

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). The firm had revenue of $0.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.08 million. Viridian Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 70.12% and a negative net margin of 85,127.16%. As a group, analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

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.