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

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.5714.

RNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Evercore ISI set a $72.00 price target on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $72.51 on Monday. Avidity Biosciences has a 52 week low of $21.51 and a 52 week high of $72.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.22. The company has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.35 and a beta of 0.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 million. Avidity Biosciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 420.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 2,373 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $171,401.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,635,961.62. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 2,373 shares of Avidity Biosciences 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 transaction, the insider owned 91,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,218.21. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,571 shares of company stock valued at $1,792,453. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1,635.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position 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 buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 291.5% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,099 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.