Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Insider Sells 2,373 Shares

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Steven George Hughes sold 2,373 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $171,401.79. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,635,961.62. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Steven George Hughes also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 22nd, Steven George Hughes sold 2,209 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total value of $105,015.86.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA remained flat at $72.37 during trading on Friday. 1,122,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,547,569. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.31 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.43. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.51 and a 52-week high of $72.61.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.22). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,634.59% and a negative return on equity of 37.70%. The firm had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 million. The business’s revenue was up 420.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,219,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $575,985,000 after acquiring an additional 3,971,457 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,065,187 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $438,540,000 after buying an additional 815,497 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 18.9% in the third quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,641,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $376,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375,000 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 8.4% in the third quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,645,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $333,093,000 after acquiring an additional 595,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 3.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,847,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,893,000 after purchasing an additional 92,719 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RNA shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore ISI set a $72.00 price objective on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.57.

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.