Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $75.00. The stock had previously closed at $36.24, but opened at $38.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Avidity Biosciences shares last traded at $33.70, with a volume of 409,321 shares.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on RNA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total transaction of $163,501.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,917.82. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $297,492.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,850 shares in the company, valued at $2,262,721. This represents a 11.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,678 shares of company stock worth $2,725,857. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 0.8% in the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 55,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 9.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 43.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,026 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.16 and a beta of 0.95.

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 (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

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.