Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 3,499,616 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 2,709,232 shares.The stock last traded at $69.8250 and had previously closed at $69.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC cut Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, October 27th. HC Wainwright cut Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (up from $59.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Avidity Biosciences to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.24.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 0.0%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.73. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.60 and a beta of 0.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 50,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.95, for a total value of $2,497,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 305,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,278,256.45. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Mosbrooker sold 6,563 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.07, for a total value of $308,920.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,850. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 154,438 shares of company stock worth $7,588,537. 3.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 72.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 51,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 21,507 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 37,654 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 10,330 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 52.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 487,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,259,000 after acquiring an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 70,573 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549 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.