Key Takeaways
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A $2 billion fund's latest 13F shows its three biggest adds in the quarter ended June 30 were Viridian Therapeutics, Travere Therapeutics, and Legend Biotech.
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Analysts' average price targets sit 47% to 111% above Friday's close for the three stocks.
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Over the past year, analysts have doubled their average Travere target and cut Legend's by more than a third.
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Travere looks like the best buy of the three, with a fresh FDA approval and every analyst's target above its share price.
A $2 billion fund's three biggest adds in Q2 were all biotech stocks: Viridian Therapeutics, Travere Therapeutics and Legend Biotech.
They come from Kynam Capital Management's 13F for the quarter ended June 30, filed Aug. 14. That's its latest filing, and it lists $1.81 billion of US stocks in 32 positions.
Viridian's launch is underway
As of June 30, Kynam held 6.45 million Viridian ( VRDN:NASDAQ )shares worth $119 million. That was 6.6% of its 13F holdings and 176% more shares than it held at March 31.
The FDA approved Viridian's Lumvoa for thyroid eye disease on June 26, and the company launched it right away. The stock is up 34% since June 30.
Elegrobart comes next, which is a self-injected treatment for the same disease, and it posted positive results in two Phase 3 trials. Viridian plans to file for its approval in the first quarter of 2027.
Analysts haven't moved much. Their average target is $36.20, a little below the $from.25 of a year ago.
That's 47% above Friday's $24.67 close, though the lowest target, $22, is below it.
Viridian reports in early November, its first report with a full quarter of Lumvoa sales, and that will show us how the launch is going.
TIKR tracks 17 analysts on Viridian Therapeutics. How many say "Buy"?
See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Viridian Therapeutics, along with Wall Street's revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Viridian Therapeutics' Analyst Ratings
Analysts have doubled their Travere target
Travere ( TVTX:NASDAQ )is further along than Viridian. It already sells a growing drug, and this year it got a second approval foAs ofit.
At June 30, Kynam held 2.00 million Travere shares worth $114 million. That was 6.3% of its 13F holdings and 27% more shares than at March 31.
Filspari's US sales rose 88% from a year earlier to $ 105million in Q1. This spring, the FDA also approved it for FSGS, a rare kidney disease that had no approved drug of its own.
And in early October, the US patent office allowed new Filspari patents that should protect its use in FSGS into 2037.
The stock is down 11% since June 30, while analysts have kept raising their targets. The average has more than doubled over the past year, from $35.93 to $75.21.
Even the lowest target, $62, is well above Friday's $50.39 close, and the stock trades at about 14x forward earnings.
We'll hear more when Travere reports in early November.
Legend's sales are growing, but its targets keep falling
Legend ( LEGN:NASDAQ )has gone the otherAs ofay. At June 30, Kynam held 3.00 million Legend shares worth $87 million. That was 4.8% of its 13F holdings and 90% more shares than at March 31. The stock is down 27% since.
Legend sells its multiple myeloma treatment Carvykti together with Johnson & Johnson. J&J reported $657 million of Carvykti sales for Q2, up 50% from a year before.
But comments on J&J's call about Tecvayli, another of its myeloma drugs, worried Legend investors, and Legend's shares fell 10% on July 15.
Q3 went better for Carvykti as J&J reported $710 million in sales, up 8% from Q2 and above the $691 million analysts expected in Legend's own Oct. 2 survey.
But US sales were flat, so all of that growth came from outside the US.
Analysts have kept cutting anyway. Their average target fell from $75.06 to $45.62 over the past year and now sits at its lowest point of the year.
That's still 111% above Friday's $21.63 close, but the lowest target, $24, is only a couple of dollars above it. Legend reports again in the next couple of weeks.
Travere is the one I'd buy
All three companies depend on one or two drugs, so one weak sales quarter or a partner changing its focus can hit them hard.
If I could only buy one right now, it'd be Travere. Its drug is growing fast, it has a new use to sell, and its stock is cheaper than it was in June even as analysts' targets have climbed.
Viridian could change my mind if Lumvoa's first full quarter impresses. Legend's growth outside the US could also win analysts back.
Kynam's 13F for the September quarter is due by Nov. 16, and it will show whether the fund still held all three on Sept. 30.
So what is Viridian Therapeutics stock actually worth?
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