Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Leerink Partnrs

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) was downgraded by research analysts at Leerink Partnrs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on RNA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Chardan Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 22nd. HC Wainwright downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (up from $59.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $69.93 on Monday. Avidity Biosciences has a 1-year low of $21.51 and a 1-year high of $70.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.70. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of -19.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.95, for a total value of $2,497,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,278,256.45. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 107,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $5,119,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,650 shares in the company, valued at $935,733. The trade was a 84.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 571,478 shares of company stock valued at $26,310,254. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Koa Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $338,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,316 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 4,386 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 23,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter.

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.