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

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $71.12 and last traded at $71.00, with a volume of 1191539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on RNA shares. Raymond James Financial cut Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price target (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.24.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.03 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.97.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 37.70% and a negative net margin of 2,634.59%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 420.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 2,209 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total transaction of $105,015.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,847,737.18. The trade was a 5.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric Mosbrooker sold 6,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.38, for a total transaction of $297,783.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 55,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,495,900. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 142,230 shares of company stock worth $7,020,485 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RNA. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at $474,000. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,614,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 4,069 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 169.5% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,347 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 14,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $682,000.

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.