Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 149.17% from the stock’s current price.

RNA has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of RNA stock opened at $24.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.94 and a 200-day moving average of $36.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -8.36 and a beta of 1.01. Avidity Biosciences has a 12 month low of $22.24 and a 12 month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 3,287 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.59, for a total transaction of $93,975.33. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 104,655 shares in the company, valued at $2,992,086.45. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,872 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.60, for a total value of $53,539.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,598.80. The trade was a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,318 shares of company stock worth $2,405,390. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $498,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter worth about $368,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 41.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,706,106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $216,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,087 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $277,000.

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.