Avidity Biosciences Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:RNA)

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 7,058 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,411% compared to the typical daily volume of 467 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on RNA shares. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $35.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,135,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,476. The stock's 50 day moving average is $29.12 and its 200 day moving average is $31.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of -12.36 and a beta of 1.00. Avidity Biosciences has a twelve month low of $21.51 and a twelve month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total transaction of $190,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,641,993.92. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 305,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,353.26. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,678 shares of company stock valued at $2,068,257. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000.

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.