Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Shares Down 7.9% – Time to Sell?

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) fell 7.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $31.27 and last traded at $31.16. 691,003 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 1,312,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on RNA. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.76 and a beta of 1.02.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. On average, 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 10,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.59, for a total value of $297,250.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 337,411 shares in the company, valued at $9,646,580.49. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $188,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,625,816.64. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,539,032. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 84.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,030,949 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $322,931,000 after buying an additional 3,228,923 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,053,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,844 shares during the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth about $50,232,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 41.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,706,106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $216,151,000 after buying an additional 1,386,087 shares during the period. Finally, RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,300,408 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $289,378,000 after acquiring an additional 900,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.