Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.02 and last traded at $71.87, with a volume of 2027503 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Loop Capital set a $72.00 target price on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Roth Capital cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.24.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.09. The company has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.19 and a beta of 0.90.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 million. Avidity Biosciences’s revenue was up 420.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total transaction of $105,015.86. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,737.18. This represents a 5.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Mosbrooker sold 6,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.38, for a total value of $297,783.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,495,900. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,400 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,219,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $575,985,000 after acquiring an additional 3,971,457 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $93,800,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,684,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $285,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,459 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 18.9% in the third quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,641,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $376,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 58.0% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,796,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,373 shares in 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.