Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $72.02 and last traded at $71.87, with a volume of 2027503 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on RNA shares. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Cowen downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.57.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of -17.31 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.15, for a total value of $1,003,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 97,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,871,069.50. The trade was a 17.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Mosbrooker sold 6,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.38, for a total value of $297,783.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,495,900. This trade represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,400 over the last quarter. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,219,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $575,985,000 after acquiring an additional 3,971,457 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 2.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,338,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $334,701,000 after purchasing an additional 295,275 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,065,187 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $438,540,000 after purchasing an additional 815,497 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,641,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $376,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,645,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $333,093,000 after purchasing an additional 595,000 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.