Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock Price Down 7.8% – Here’s Why

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) traded down 7.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $45.50 and last traded at $46.06. 285,820 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,312,644 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RNA. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.22.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 10.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.98 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.23 and its 200-day moving average is $40.08.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.14. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The business had revenue of $2.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 million. Equities research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 32,880 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $1,446,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,663 shares in the company, valued at $10,325,172. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $225,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,167.70. This represents a 25.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,543 shares of company stock worth $5,782,042 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 20.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 140,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,593,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 36,635 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,881 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,878 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter.

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.