Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $67.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on RNA. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.80.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 6.6 %

RNA opened at $30.84 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 0.99. Avidity Biosciences has a 52 week low of $9.93 and a 52 week high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.14. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 3,323 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.12, for a total transaction of $139,964.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,639.60. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,040,384.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,664,959.28. The trade was a 10.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,071 shares of company stock worth $4,679,174. Insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PEAK6 Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 4.9% in the third quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 7,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000.

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.