Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on RNA. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $72.00 price target on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.42.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

RNA stock opened at $13.13 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences has a one year low of $11.95 and a one year high of $16.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.06 and a 200-day moving average of $58.47.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.24) by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 44.92% and a negative net margin of 3,650.39%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 6,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $473,388.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,164,987.85. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 14,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total value of $1,042,338.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,007 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,557.15. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 58,407 shares of company stock valued at $4,226,448 in the last 90 days. 3.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RNA. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter.

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.