Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $72.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 124.59% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on RNA. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:RNA traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $32.06. 267,780 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,310,448. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 1.02. Avidity Biosciences has a one year low of $21.56 and a one year high of $56.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.83.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.04). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The company had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,040,384.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,308 shares in the company, valued at $8,664,959.28. This trade represents a 10.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.60, for a total transaction of $53,539.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at $370,598.80. This trade represents a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,138 shares of company stock worth $2,539,032. Insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,184 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,367 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 217.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 3,836.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 217,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,968,000 after acquiring an additional 211,512 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth $1,701,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth $265,000.

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the delivery of RNA therapeutics. It develops antibody oligonucleotide conjugates (AOC) that are designed to treat diseases previously untreatable with RNA therapeutics. The company's lead product candidate AOC 1001 for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1, a rare monogenic muscle disease that is in phase 1/2 clinical trial.