Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $15.27 and last traded at $14.6930, with a volume of 2991534 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RNA has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Evercore set a $72.00 price target on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.57.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.40 and a 200-day moving average of $61.80. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -2.97 and a beta of 0.93.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.24) by ($0.35). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 44.92% and a negative net margin of 3,650.39%.The business had revenue of $0.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 6,534 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $473,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 85,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,164,987.85. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 14,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $1,042,338.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,557.15. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 58,407 shares of company stock valued at $4,226,448 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 55.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 899,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,194,000 after buying an additional 319,282 shares in the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,265,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 10.2% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 487,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,259,000 after purchasing an additional 45,144 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 44.2% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 392,644 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,107,000 after purchasing an additional 120,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 157.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 45,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 28,055 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.