Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would suggest a potential upside of 52.27% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on RNA. Barclays initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $63.60.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.00. 613,792 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,308,393. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.67 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.14. Avidity Biosciences has a 12 month low of $5.97 and a 12 month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.09 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. Analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.84 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 13,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $578,732.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 69,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,792. This trade represents a 16.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 32,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 234,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,325,172. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 150,866 shares of company stock valued at $6,724,557 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,848,776 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $773,864,000 after acquiring an additional 689,729 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $322,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,923 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 11.7% in the second quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,505,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $265,729,000 after purchasing an additional 680,000 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% in the third quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,300,408 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $289,378,000 after purchasing an additional 900,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $224,774,000 after buying an additional 1,239,323 shares in the last quarter.

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.