Wells Fargo predicts this little-known biotech company will rise more than 80%

According to Wells Fargo, Viridian Therapeutics is "a sight to behold." 

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As a result of Archila's research, Viridian has been introduced to coverage with an overweight rating and a $46 price target, which implies a nearly 83% rally from the company's Friday closing price. It is worth noting that the company's shares have fallen more than 8% year to date, which could be a good signal for investors to take advantage of. 

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Our opinion is that VRDN's recent pullback from its highs offers an attractive setup for the remaining catalysts in 2023. According to Archila in a note he wrote on Monday, VRDN has a lower clinical risk profile than Tepezza, and current data suggests a differentiated profile over Tepezza from HZNP. Horizon Therapeutics' Tepezza is a treatment for thyroid eye disease (TED) that was approved by the FDA. 

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As of right now, Viridian is in the process of testing its treatment for thyroid eye disease known as VRDN-001 in clinical trials. Even though Horizon's Tepezza has already been established in the market for some time, Wells Fargo believes it will gain significant market share. 

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Despite Tepezza's well-entrenched status in the TED market, Archila believes VRDN-001 will demonstrate greater efficacy and safety in active as well as chronic TED with shorter IV dosing regimens, which will help it gain market share. 

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In the second half of 2023, VRDN-001 is expected to be able to report on the results of phase one and phase two trials conducted on chronic thyroid eye disease. There is no doubt that the data from VRDN-001 are of great medical importance. However, the differences between VRDN-001 and HZNP in terms of enrollment criteria and the duration of treatment (much shorter for VRDN-001) will make it difficult to compare the two. Hence, in our base case, we think that any upward movement will likely be modest (+5-10%) and that any upward movement will likely be accompanied by good safety," said Archila. 

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There was an increase of more than 6% in shares of Viridian on Monday morning. There was a 48% increase in the stock price in the year 2022.

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