Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $72.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $87.00.

RNA has been the subject of several other reports. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Avidity Biosciences to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.74.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 42.4%

Shares of RNA stock opened at $70.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of -19.66 and a beta of 0.97. Avidity Biosciences has a 52-week low of $21.51 and a 52-week high of $70.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 81,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total transaction of $3,480,489.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,175.58. This represents a 67.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Troy Edward Wilson sold 65,554 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $2,949,930.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,920. This trade represents a 78.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 571,478 shares of company stock worth $26,310,254. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNA. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 worth $285,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,459 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,261,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,765,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,498,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,729,000.

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.