Avidity Biosciences’ (RNA) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 81.00% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday. Citigroup started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Avidity Biosciences stock traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.15. 464,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,323. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.48 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.99 and a 200 day moving average of $37.83. Avidity Biosciences has a 12-month low of $21.56 and a 12-month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $188,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,625,816.64. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 12,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $416,153.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 72,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,372,651.02. The trade was a 14.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,138 shares of company stock worth $2,539,032. 3.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RNA. FMR LLC grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,848,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $773,864,000 after acquiring an additional 689,729 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,042,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $321,127,000 after buying an additional 408,861 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $274,280,000 after acquiring an additional 205,027 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,106,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,100,000 after acquiring an additional 625,000 shares during the period.

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.