Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Receives "Overweight" Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $96.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target suggests a potential upside of 221.82% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.59.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 0.2%

Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $29.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of -9.94 and a beta of 0.95. Avidity Biosciences has a 52 week low of $21.51 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $30.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.53.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The business 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 now directly owns 50,392 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,854.08. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total value of $657,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,195 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,811.60. This trade represents a 19.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,536 shares of company stock valued at $1,229,820. Insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RNA. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $386,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $274,280,000 after buying an additional 205,027 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 43.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,017 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,557,000 after acquiring an additional 59,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $5,784,000.

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.

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