Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.9474.

RNA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RNA. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,708,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 30,032.5% in the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 6,026,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $434,691,000 after buying an additional 6,006,500 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $314,847,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,219,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $575,985,000 after buying an additional 3,971,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,736,000.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $13.23 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences has a 52 week low of $11.95 and a 52 week high of $16.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.87.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by $0.08. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3,650.39% and a negative return on equity of 44.92%. The firm had revenue of $19.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.00 million. On average, analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.