Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 87.59% from the company’s previous close.

RNA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Chardan Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of RNA opened at $29.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.28 and a 200-day moving average of $30.89. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 0.95. Avidity Biosciences has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a negative net margin of 4,136.00%. Analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.40, for a total value of $190,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,637,949.60. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total value of $657,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,811.60. The trade was a 19.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,536 shares of company stock valued at $1,229,820. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNA. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $386,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $274,280,000 after buying an additional 205,027 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,017 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,557,000 after acquiring an additional 59,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,784,000.

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.