Kopp Family Office Trims $3.5 Million Worth of Viridian Therapeutics Stake -- What Investors Should Know

What happened

According to an SEC filing dated April 20, 2026, Kopp Family Office, LLC, reduced its stake in Viridian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VRDN) by 117,878 shares during the first quarter. The estimated value of the transaction was $3.5 million, calculated using the stock’s average closing price for the quarter. The fund still held a 55,295-share position in Viridian at quarter-end.

What else to know

• The position was previously 3.4% of the fund's AUM as of the prior quarter. After the sale, the Viridian stake now accounts for 0.7% of the fund’s 13F reportable assets under management
• Top holdings after the filing:
  • NYSEMKT:VEA: $28.19 million (19.4% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT:AGG: $27.32 million (18.8% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT:RSP: $20.28 million (14.0% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT:SPY: $19.44 million (13.4% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT:VWO: $12.22 million (8.4% of AUM)
• As of April 21, 2026, shares were priced at $14.29, up about 9% over the past year; the stock underperformed the S&P 500 by roughly 28 percentage points over the same period.

Company overview

Company snapshot

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing antibody therapies for rare and serious diseases.

• Its lead TED programs are veligrotug (VRDN-001), an intravenous IGF-1R inhibitor with a BLA currently under FDA Priority Review (PDUFA target date: June 30, 2026), and elegrobart (VRDN-003), a subcutaneous IGF-1R antibody in Phase 3 trials.
• The company is also advancing a preclinical anti-TSHR program targeting TED and Graves' disease, as well as an emerging portfolio of FcRn inhibitors -- VRDN-006 and VRDN-008 -- with potential applications across multiple autoimmune conditions.
• With multiple late-stage catalysts expected in 2026 and a potential commercial launch on the horizon, Viridian is at an inflection point for a company that has yet to bring a product to market.

What this transaction means for investors

Kopp Family Office's decision to cut its Viridian Therapeutics position by more than two-thirds isn't necessarily a red flag -- but events since the quarter ended have made it look prescient. The fund trimmed a position that has now underperformed the broader market by more than 28 percentage points over the past year, with Viridian shares falling more than 50% since mid-March. For Kopp’s investment managers, that kind of relative drag can be reason enough to reduce exposure, particularly when the stock represents a small, speculative slice of an otherwise ETF-heavy portfolio.

Kopp’s top five holdings are all broad-market or international ETFs, suggesting a relatively conservative, index-oriented strategy. A clinical-stage biotech like Viridian -- which has yet to bring a product to market but is now weeks away from a potential FDA decision on its lead candidate -- fits the profile of a higher-risk, event-driven satellite position rather than a core holding. Trimming Viridian from 3.4% to 0.7% of AUM looks more like portfolio discipline than a total loss of conviction.

On the financial side, Viridian is spending heavily to get to the finish line -- the company posted a net loss of $343 million for full-year 2025, up from $270 million the prior year, as it ramped up commercial preparations and clinical trial activity. That said, it ended 2025 with a strong cash position of roughly $875 million, bolstered in part by a royalty financing deal with DRI Healthcare that could bring in up to $300 million tied to approval and sales milestones.

What's changed dramatically in 2026 is the competitive picture. On March 30, Viridian reported Phase 3 REVEAL-1 top-line data for elegrobart -- its subcutaneous candidate -- that met primary endpoints but raised questions: improvements in inflammation were limited, and there were reports of tinnitus. The market's reaction was swift, with shares falling more than 30% the day of the report. Then, on April 7, Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) reported Phase 3 results for a subcutaneous version of its already-approved Tepezza that showed a 77% proptosis response rate -- numerically stronger than elegrobart's 54% (Q4W) and 63% (Q8W) results. VRDN fell another 20%+ on that news. Several analysts maintained bullish ratings and price targets for Viridian well above current levels, arguing that veligrotug's profile and elegrobart's more convenient dosing schedule (as few as four total injections versus Tepezza's twelve) still represent a meaningful commercial opportunity. But the story has clearly shifted from a straightforward pipeline-to-approval narrative to a genuine question of market differentiation.

For retail investors curious about the rare disease and autoimmune space more broadly, this episode is a reminder of how quickly the calculus can change in clinical-stage biotech -- particularly when a well-capitalized incumbent like Amgen is competing in the same niche. Rather than concentrating in a single clinical-stage name, some investors prefer broader exposure through healthcare ETFs -- such as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEMKT:XLV) or the iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) -- which spread risk across many companies.

Bottom line: Kopp's Q1 trim looks more like noise than signal -- a routine reduction of a small, high-risk position in an ETF-dominated portfolio -- but the real story at Viridian has since become much louder, and the competitive headwinds from Amgen are a development worth watching regardless of what any one fund manager does.

Andy Gould has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amgen, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, and Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.