Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $49.60 and last traded at $49.56, with a volume of 391587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RNA has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday, September 16th. Chardan Capital boosted their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Up 4.8 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 32.89% and a negative net margin of 2,381.82%. Research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 32,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $1,446,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 234,663 shares in the company, valued at $10,325,172. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Avidity Biosciences news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total value of $225,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,498.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 32,880 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,325,172. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,543 shares of company stock worth $5,774,742. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at about $664,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,190,000 after buying an additional 707,773 shares during the last quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $875,000. Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth $8,108,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,725,000 after acquiring an additional 25,663 shares during the period.

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.