Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Now Covered by Citigroup

Analysts at Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 114.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ RNA opened at $32.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.04. Avidity Biosciences has a one year low of $21.56 and a one year high of $56.00.

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

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total transaction of $831,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,018 shares in the company, valued at $3,127,038.68. This represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 12,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $416,153.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,372,651.02. The trade was a 14.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,138 shares of company stock valued at $3,370,532 in the last three months. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 689,729 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,042,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $321,127,000 after acquiring an additional 408,861 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $274,280,000 after acquiring an additional 205,027 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,106,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,148 shares during the period. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 9.1% during the 4th 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 during the period.

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.