The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 264,305 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,849 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.22% of Avidity Biosciences worth $7,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $386,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $274,280,000 after buying an additional 205,027 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,017 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,557,000 after buying an additional 59,295 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 229.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 50,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $1,179,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on RNA shares. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.69.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.40, for a total transaction of $190,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,637,949.60. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 305,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,500,353.26. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,437 in the last ninety days. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 18.6 %

Shares of RNA opened at $26.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.80. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.51 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -9.12 and a beta of 1.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $2.97 million during 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, sell-side analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Avidity Biosciences Company 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.