Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Trading Up 6% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 5.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.13 and a 200-day moving average of $41.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.09 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $1,040,384.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,664,959.28. This trade represents a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 3,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.12, for a total transaction of $139,964.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at $624,639.60. This trade represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,586 shares of company stock worth $5,208,537. 3.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 7,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000.

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.