Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Insider Steven George Hughes Sells 9,578 Shares of Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $297,492.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 72,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,262,721. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ RNA opened at $30.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.11 and its 200 day moving average is $37.49. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.56 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The business had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RNA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.69.

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.