Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $75.00. The stock had previously closed at $36.24, but opened at $38.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Avidity Biosciences shares last traded at $33.70, with a volume of 409,321 shares traded.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $979,632.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 305,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total transaction of $190,820.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,641,993.92. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,678 shares of company stock valued at $2,068,257 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,338,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $334,701,000 after purchasing an additional 295,275 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,684,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $285,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,459 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $274,280,000 after buying an additional 205,027 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,100,000 after purchasing an additional 625,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,053,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,844 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Up 2.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -11.67 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.34.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

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.