Investors who take an interest in Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRDN) should definitely note that the CEO, President & Director, Stephen Mahoney, recently paid US$23.33 per share to buy US$499k worth of the stock. However, it only increased shareholding by a small percentage, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.

Viridian Therapeutics Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Stephen Mahoney was the biggest purchase of Viridian Therapeutics shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$23.61. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Viridian Therapeutics share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

In the last twelve months Viridian Therapeutics insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Viridian Therapeutics

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data isn't picking up on much insider ownership at Viridian Therapeutics, though insiders do hold about US$798k worth of shares. It's always possible we are missing something but from our data, it looks like insider ownership is minimal.

So What Do The Viridian Therapeutics Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Viridian Therapeutics insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Viridian Therapeutics has 4 warning signs (2 are potentially serious!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Viridian Therapeutics may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.