Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.69.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of RNA opened at $33.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of -11.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.39. Avidity Biosciences has a 52 week low of $21.56 and a 52 week high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 10,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.59, for a total value of $297,250.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 337,411 shares in the company, valued at $9,646,580.49. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,872 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.60, for a total value of $53,539.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,598.80. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,443 shares of company stock worth $2,241,889 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% in the fourth 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 period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000.

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.