585,550 Shares in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA Acquired by Highbridge Capital Management LLC

Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 585,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,236,000. Avidity Biosciences comprises approximately 1.4% of Highbridge Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Highbridge Capital Management LLC owned 0.38% of Avidity Biosciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,982,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth $392,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 417,539 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,117,000 after acquiring an additional 35,711 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,776,785 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $272,420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,316 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2,137.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 610,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,039,000 after acquiring an additional 583,256 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RNA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.42.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of RNA stock opened at $11.80 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.77 and a 12-month high of $16.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.23 and a 200-day moving average of $43.86.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by $0.08. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3,650.39% and a negative return on equity of 44.92%. The company had revenue of $19.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.00 million. Research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.