Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 166,813 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 411.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,372 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 166,813 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.17% of Avidity Biosciences worth $6,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,042,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $321,127,000 after purchasing an additional 408,861 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $274,280,000 after buying an additional 205,027 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,106,097 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $235,725,000 after buying an additional 1,075,148 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $218,100,000 after acquiring an additional 625,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,053,010 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $205,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,844 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 0.5%

Avidity Biosciences stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.21. 514,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,407,818. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.51 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $30.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.90.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a negative net margin of 4,136.00%. The business had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RNA. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Chardan Capital boosted their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other 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 transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total value of $657,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,636,811.60. The trade was a 19.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,678 shares of company stock worth $2,725,857 in the last quarter. 3.83% 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.