Barclays PLC Sells 5,688 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Barclays PLC cut its stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 250,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,688 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $7,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $274,280,000 after purchasing an additional 205,027 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,106,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,725,000 after buying an additional 1,075,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $82,832,000 after buying an additional 222,152 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,028,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,921,000 after acquiring an additional 38,749 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 799,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,236,000 after acquiring an additional 12,548 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $188,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,625,816.64. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $979,632.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at $9,500,353.26. This represents a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,876,027. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 0.8 %

RNA stock opened at $30.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day moving average of $34.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 1.01. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. On average, research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Avidity Biosciences 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.