Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) is RTW Investments LP’s 6th Largest Position

RTW Investments LP decreased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,932,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the period. Avidity Biosciences comprises about 3.5% of RTW Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. RTW Investments LP owned 0.07% of Avidity Biosciences worth $230,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RNA. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 68.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,743,000 after buying an additional 103,905 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 229.9% during the third 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at $1,179,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,474 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.38.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $28.97 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.06 and a beta of 1.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. As a group, research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at $9,500,353.26. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $297,492.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 72,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,262,721. This trade represents a 11.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock worth $1,877,437 in the last three months. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.