Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 408,861 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,042,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 408,861 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 9.26% of Avidity Biosciences worth $321,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,568 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RNA traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.04. 256,567 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,404,897. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $56.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 1.01.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. Equities analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total transaction of $163,501.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,917.82. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,876,027 over the last three months. 3.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.