Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Avidity Biosciences, with 12 holds, four buys, one strong buy and one sell among 18 firms. The average 12-month price target is $67.60.
• Avidity reported a quarterly loss of $0.97 per share, beating the consensus estimate of a $1.05 loss, while revenue of $19.64 million exceeded expectations of $2 million. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $2.89 per share.
• Shares opened at $11.46, near the company’s 12-month low of $11.13, and the stock has attracted new institutional investment. Avidity is developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate therapies, with lead candidate AOC 1001 in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.60.

RNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avidity Biosciences from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Avidity Biosciences to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $11.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $196.03 million, a PE ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $12.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.40. Avidity Biosciences has a twelve month low of $11.13 and a twelve month high of $16.77.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.05) by $0.08. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 44.92% and a negative net margin of 3,650.39%.The company had revenue of $19.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.00 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RNA. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at $11,749,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth $219,736,000. P Schoenfeld Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth about $6,109,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 571.1% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 50,976 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,676,000 after acquiring an additional 43,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,826,000.

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company's proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company's lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.

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