Brokerages Set Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Price Target at $69.57

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.5714.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RNA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Loop Capital set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Leerink Partners lowered Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

RNA opened at $72.91 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences has a one year low of $21.51 and a one year high of $73.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.44 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.61.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.22). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 37.70% and a negative net margin of 2,634.59%.The firm had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 million. The business’s revenue was up 420.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total value of $127,367.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,199,916.90. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 4,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $329,067.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,560.50. This trade represents a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,407 shares of company stock valued at $4,226,448. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.