Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $72.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock.

RNA has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $65.80.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of RNA stock traded down $0.47 on Friday, hitting $29.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,938,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,346,121. The company's 50 day moving average price is $37.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.74. Avidity Biosciences has a 1 year low of $9.93 and a 1 year high of $56.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.23 and a beta of 0.99.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.14. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The company had revenue of $2.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $1,213,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 94,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,561,753.36. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,040,384.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,664,959.28. This represents a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 163,071 shares of company stock valued at $6,125,324. 3.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 84.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,030,949 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $322,931,000 after buying an additional 3,228,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,706,106 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $216,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386,087 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,896,166 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $224,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,323 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,300,408 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $289,378,000 after purchasing an additional 900,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,190,000 after purchasing an additional 707,773 shares during the period.

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.