Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.96 and last traded at $52.60, with a volume of 515375 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RNA. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $63.22.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.04 and a 200 day moving average of $40.01. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.35 and a beta of 0.91.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. As a group, analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $225,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at $670,167.70. This represents a 25.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $1,213,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,018 shares in the company, valued at $4,561,753.36. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,543 shares of company stock worth $5,782,042 over the last three months. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 10.8% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 17,320 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 175.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 20,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 13,011 shares in the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 6.9% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 62,364 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 4,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $471,000.

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.