Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $57.00. The stock had previously closed at $30.64, but opened at $29.90. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Avidity Biosciences shares last traded at $29.91, with a volume of 151,087 shares.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on RNA. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $1,040,384.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 265,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,664,959.28. This trade represents a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total value of $858,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,054,364.53. The trade was a 21.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,138 shares of company stock worth $4,229,012. 3.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% in the 4th 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.70. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

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.