State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Takes $2.06 Million Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 44,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,190,000 after acquiring an additional 707,773 shares in the last quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $875,000. Darwin Global Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,108,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,631 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,725,000 after buying an additional 25,663 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the first quarter valued at about $949,000.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $233,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,522.90. This represents a 25.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $1,213,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,561,753.36. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 127,543 shares of company stock worth $5,782,042. 3.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RNA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.22.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

NASDAQ RNA opened at $42.18 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.68 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.20. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.65 and a beta of 0.91.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.85 EPS for the current year.

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.