Steven George Hughes Sells 9,578 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $297,492.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:RNA opened at $30.84 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.56 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.47.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 52.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,184 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,367 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 217.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 3,836.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 217,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,968,000 after acquiring an additional 211,512 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $1,701,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $265,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RNA. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.