Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates Overweight Rating for Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $96.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price points to a potential upside of 134.49% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on RNA. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Chardan Capital boosted their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of RNA stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.94. 286,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,314,289. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.87 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.50. Avidity Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.82 and a twelve month high of $48.80.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.11. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,381.82% and a negative return on equity of 32.89%. The company had revenue of $2.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 million. Analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 104,245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total transaction of $3,723,631.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,575,001.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $1,402,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 213,872 shares in the company, valued at $7,500,491.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 104,245 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total value of $3,723,631.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,575,001.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 379,478 shares of company stock worth $14,679,680 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RNA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,429,107 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $189,592,000 after buying an additional 516,446 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 11.7% during the second quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,505,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $265,729,000 after acquiring an additional 680,000 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 33.7% during the first quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,282,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,761,000 after acquiring an additional 827,647 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4,661.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,242,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,190,000 after purchasing an additional 707,773 shares during the last quarter.

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.