Polar Capital Holdings Plc Lowers Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lowered its holdings in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,271,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 270,235 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned 1.07% of Avidity Biosciences worth $36,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 9,573 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,026 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 702,981 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,443,000 after acquiring an additional 14,006 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,023,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 23,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 5,405 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at $9,500,353.26. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total transaction of $163,501.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,917.82. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock worth $1,877,437 over the last three months. 3.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

RNA traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.35. 1,342,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,437,864. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.87. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.02). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The business had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.38.

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.