Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Insider Sells $163,501.25 in Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total transaction of $163,501.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,917.82. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $26.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -9.23 and a beta of 1.02. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.24 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.74.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced 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). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The company had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 7,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,026 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 184,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,374,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RNA. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.69.

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.