Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $55.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on RNA. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.35.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.45. 4,551,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,392,041. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.91. Avidity Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.27.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a negative net margin of 4,136.00%. As a group, research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.24, for a total transaction of $27,548.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,854.08. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total value of $657,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,636,811.60. The trade was a 19.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,661 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,319 over the last 90 days. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RNA. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,053,010 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $205,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,844 shares during the period. Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $50,232,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,684,556 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $285,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,459 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at $22,765,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $21,077,000.

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.