Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $48.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Bank of America's price objective indicates a potential upside of 68.01% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank started 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Chardan Capital lifted their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $67.33.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $32.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,995,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,432,903. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.35. Avidity Biosciences has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of -11.16 and a beta of 0.95.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The business had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,917.82. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $979,632.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 305,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,678 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,857 over the last ninety days. 3.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.