Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 28.40% from the company’s current price.

RNA has been the topic of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.75.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of RNA opened at $45.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.58 and a beta of 0.89. Avidity Biosciences has a one year low of $4.82 and a one year high of $48.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.69.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.11. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 32.89% and a negative net margin of 2,381.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total value of $1,118,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,187,366.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 13,153 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $578,732.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 69,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,792. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total value of $1,118,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,187,366.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,543 shares of company stock valued at $5,543,382 in the last three months. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,429,107 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $189,592,000 after purchasing an additional 516,446 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,505,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $265,729,000 after purchasing an additional 680,000 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,282,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,761,000 after purchasing an additional 827,647 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 4,661.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,242,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,190,000 after purchasing an additional 707,773 shares in the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

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.