HighTower Advisors LLC Invests $498,000 in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RNA. PEAK6 Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 25.9% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 12,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $416,153.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 72,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,372,651.02. This trade represents a 14.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 13,153 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $578,732.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 69,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,792. This represents a 16.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 250,614 shares of company stock worth $10,006,616. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $31.82 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.49 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.05 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.15.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.14. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The business had revenue of $2.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 million. Analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

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.