Steven George Hughes Sells 2,373 Shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Steven George Hughes sold 2,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $171,401.79. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,635,961.62. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Steven George Hughes also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 22nd, Steven George Hughes sold 2,209 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total transaction of $105,015.86.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of RNA stock remained flat at $72.37 during trading hours on Friday. 1,122,166 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,547,569. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of -17.31 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.43. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.51 and a 52-week high of $72.61.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.22). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 37.70% and a negative net margin of 2,634.59%.The firm had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 420.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 38.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,304 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 12,241 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,837 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 784,704 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,164,000 after purchasing an additional 21,649 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 357,718 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,560,000 after buying an additional 25,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 1.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 61,675 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after buying an additional 874 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on RNA shares. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen lowered Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $78.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.57.

Avidity Biosciences Company Profile

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.