Castleark Management LLC Purchases 13,510 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Castleark Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,620 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 13,510 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Avidity Biosciences worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RNA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% during the 4th 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 increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,568 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RNA. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank began 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.38.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of RNA traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.58. 455,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,437,911. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.62 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.40.

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

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $297,492.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,262,721. This represents a 11.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,437. Insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

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.