Brokerages Set Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Target Price at $69.57

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.5714.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RNA shares. Raymond James Financial downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 2,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $171,401.79. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,635,961.62. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 2,373 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $171,401.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 91,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,218.21. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 25,571 shares of company stock worth $1,792,453 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 1,635.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 291.5% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of RNA opened at $72.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.79. Avidity Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $72.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of -17.35 and a beta of 0.95.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $12.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 37.70% and a negative net margin of 2,634.59%.Avidity Biosciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 420.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.