Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $40.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

RNA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set an overweight rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $36.86.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $26.45 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $4.82 and a fifty-two week high of $27.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.12 and a beta of 0.79.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.79) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by ($0.25). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,219.87% and a negative return on equity of 39.74%. The company had revenue of $2.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.08 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences will post -3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 84,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.39, for a total value of $1,796,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,182.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 84,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.39, for a total value of $1,796,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,182.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 27,641 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.03, for a total value of $608,931.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $326,704.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 204,641 shares of company stock valued at $4,676,431. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,114,431 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,910,000 after acquiring an additional 491,567 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,014,490 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,612,000 after acquiring an additional 47,305 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,300,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,294,000 after acquiring an additional 550,000 shares during the period. Alethea Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alethea Capital Management LLC now owns 854,651 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 545,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 30,674 shares during the period.

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.