Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.70 and last traded at $72.5850, with a volume of 181864 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on RNA. Raymond James Financial cut Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Chardan Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.57.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.31. The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 37.70% and a negative net margin of 2,634.59%.Avidity Biosciences’s revenue was up 420.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Charles Calderaro III sold 3,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $269,201.21. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,797 shares in the company, valued at $3,596,837.31. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 2,373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $171,401.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 91,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,218.21. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,362 shares of company stock worth $1,687,437. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 31,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 0.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 90,258 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period.

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.