Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.27 and last traded at $14.6930, with a volume of 2991534 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RNA has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Chardan Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore set a $72.00 target price on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.57.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.91.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.24) by ($0.35). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 44.92% and a negative net margin of 3,650.39%.The firm had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 14,387 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total value of $1,042,338.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,489,557.15. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 4,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $354,642.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,289,347.55. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,407 shares of company stock worth $4,226,448. Corporate insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,556,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $689,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,803,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,255 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $303,000.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

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.