** Shares of Viridian Therapeutics VRDN.O down 3% in extended trading to $23.30 as it seeks capital

** Waltham, Massachusetts-based biotech commences offering of common stock and Series B convertible preferred stock; deal size not disclosed

** Co plans to use net proceeds to fund commercial launch activities related to veligrotug and VRDN-003, its drugs to treat thyroid eye disease (TED), which causes inflammation and damage to the tissues around the eye

** With ~81.7 mln total shares outstanding, co has nearly $2 bln market cap

** Jefferies, Leerink, Evercore and Stifel are joint bookrunners for offerings

** VRDN shares on Tues finished down 0.3% at $24.02, trimming YTD gain to 25%

** 15 of 17 analysts rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", 2 have "hold", their median PT is $37.50, per LSEG data

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))