Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $63.35 Million Stock Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 22.0%, owning approximately 1.78% of the company, valued at $63.35 million after selling 606,063 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including MPM Bioimpact LLC and Royal Bank of Canada, have increased their positions in Avidity Biosciences, highlighting renewed interest in the stock.
• Analysts are optimistic about Avidity Biosciences, with several upgrading their price targets, most notably Wells Fargo raising it from $70.00 to $75.00 and giving an "overweight" rating.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,145,881 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 606,063 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 1.78% of Avidity Biosciences worth $63,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MPM Bioimpact LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1.6% in the first quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 714,224 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,084,000 after buying an additional 11,243 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the first quarter worth $15,498,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,304 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 12,241 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,931 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,518,000 after buying an additional 42,873 shares during the period. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 55,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on RNA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Avidity Biosciences to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 107,500 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $5,119,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $935,733. The trade was a 84.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 81,434 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total value of $3,480,489.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,661,175.58. The trade was a 67.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 475,347 shares of company stock valued at $21,218,582 over the last 90 days. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:RNA opened at $47.23 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $38.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.86. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.51 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of -13.27 and a beta of 0.99.

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.

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