Avidity Biosciences’ (RNA) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 148.86% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on RNA. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

RNA opened at $24.11 on Wednesday. Avidity Biosciences has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.37 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.93.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 3,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.59, for a total value of $93,975.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 104,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,992,086.45. This trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.60, for a total transaction of $53,539.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,598.80. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 79,318 shares of company stock worth $2,405,390. 3.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 43.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000.

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.