Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Trading 8.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) traded up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $33.37 and last traded at $33.46. 454,690 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 1,314,351 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RNA shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays dropped 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.56 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.44.

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

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $297,492.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,262,721. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at $9,500,353.26. This represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,443 shares of company stock valued at $2,241,889 over the last three months. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RNA. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter worth about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

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.