Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 162,665 Shares of Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) by 1,603.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,810 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,665 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Viridian Therapeutics worth $3,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Viridian Therapeutics by 344.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 4,692 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $149,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Viridian Therapeutics by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake 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. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Viridian Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $208,000.

Viridian Therapeutics Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRDN opened at $19.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 18.55, a current ratio of 18.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.40 and a 52-week high of $27.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.58 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.54.

Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $0.09 million for 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%. Equities analysts predict that Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.03 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRDN has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen started coverage on Viridian Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Viridian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.70.

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.