Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 314,028 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,015,251 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 314,028 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.85% of Avidity Biosciences worth $29,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,030,949 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $322,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228,923 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $216,151,000 after buying an additional 1,386,087 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,896,166 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $224,774,000 after buying an additional 1,239,323 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% during the third quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,300,408 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $289,378,000 after purchasing an additional 900,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,303 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,767,000 after purchasing an additional 328,606 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 3,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.59, for a total value of $93,975.33. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 104,655 shares in the company, valued at $2,992,086.45. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,443 shares of company stock worth $2,241,889 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ RNA opened at $31.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.97 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.19. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.56 and a 12 month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.