Insider Selling: Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Insider Sells $578,732.00 in Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 13,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $578,732.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,792. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $45.95 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.69. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.82 and a 1-year high of $48.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.58 and a beta of 0.89.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.09 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,381.82% and a negative return on equity of 32.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RNA. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 132.1% during the first quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,825,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $148,654,000 after buying an additional 3,315,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4,661.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,242,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,730 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 33.7% during the first quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,282,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,761,000 after purchasing an additional 827,647 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,190,000 after purchasing an additional 707,773 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at about $15,467,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RNA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.75.

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.