Scotiabank Begins Coverage on Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)

Equities researchers at Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Scotiabank's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 131.10% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, February 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.64.

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Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

RNA stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.29. 816,962 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,319,492. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.52 and a beta of 1.02. Avidity Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $20.80 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.32.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The business had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $188,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,625,816.64. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $1,040,384.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 265,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,664,959.28. This represents a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 129,138 shares of company stock worth $4,229,012 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000.

About Avidity Biosciences

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.