Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Trading Up 6% – Here’s What Happened

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) shares traded up 6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $31.18 and last traded at $31.44. 122,179 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,258,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on RNA shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.80.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.02. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.09 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of Avidity Biosciences 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 directly owns 265,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,664,959.28. The trade was a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 3,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.12, for a total transaction of $139,964.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,639.60. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,586 shares of company stock valued at $5,208,537 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RNA. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,497 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 19.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 43,721 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 7,086 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $262,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 111,770 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,566,000 after purchasing an additional 9,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 81.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 115,508 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,719,000 after purchasing an additional 51,743 shares in the last quarter.

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.