Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Given “Market Perform” Rating at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners restated their market perform rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $72.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $65.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Roth Capital downgraded Avidity Biosciences to a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.74.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

RNA stock opened at $70.00 on Monday. Avidity Biosciences has a 1-year low of $21.51 and a 1-year high of $70.51. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.66 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.38.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, insider Eric Mosbrooker sold 6,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.38, for a total transaction of $297,783.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 55,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,495,900. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Troy Edward Wilson sold 29,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,475,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 54,425 shares in the company, valued at $2,721,250. The trade was a 35.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 571,478 shares of company stock worth $26,310,254 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,338,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $334,701,000 after buying an additional 295,275 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,684,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $285,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,459 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 3.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,847,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,893,000 after purchasing an additional 92,719 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 16.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,839,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,237,000 after purchasing an additional 264,827 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 3.5% in the first quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,518,000 after purchasing an additional 42,873 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.