BMO Capital Markets Begins Coverage on Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA)

Stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 124.09% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on RNA. Barclays decreased their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RNA opened at $32.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.16 and a beta of 1.02. Avidity Biosciences has a 1 year low of $21.56 and a 1 year high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. On average, analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total transaction of $831,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,018 shares in the company, valued at $3,127,038.68. The trade was a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 12,742 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $416,153.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 72,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,372,651.02. This represents a 14.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 105,138 shares of company stock worth $3,370,532. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $283,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,062,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $660,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,184 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,367 shares in the last quarter.

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.