Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Chardan Capital increased their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.50.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ RNA opened at $33.62 on Tuesday. Avidity Biosciences has a 52-week low of $21.51 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -11.67 and a beta of 0.95.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.02). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The company had revenue of $1.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total transaction of $163,501.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,917.82. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,678 shares of company stock valued at $2,068,257. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 164,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,864,000 after purchasing an additional 10,973 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at about $180,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 61,675 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 357,718 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,560,000 after acquiring an additional 25,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 784,704 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,164,000 after acquiring an additional 21,649 shares during the last quarter.

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.