Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Coverage Initiated at Raymond James

Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 102.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on RNA. 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. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Chardan Capital increased their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.33.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $32.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.26. Avidity Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). 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 $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. As a group, analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total transaction of $657,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,811.60. The trade was a 19.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total value of $163,501.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,917.82. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,678 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,857 over the last 90 days. 3.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,053,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $205,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,844 shares in the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth about $50,232,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,684,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $285,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,459 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $22,765,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,077,000.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

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.