Raymond James Financial Inc. Decreases Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 19.9%, selling 39,643 shares and holding 159,264 shares worth approximately $4.7 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Numerous investors have adjusted their positions in Avidity Biosciences, with Parallel Advisors LLC increasing its holdings by 43.3% during the same period.
• Analysts have a consensus Buy rating on Avidity Biosciences, with price targets ranging from $65.00 to $75.00, reflecting strong investor interest in the stock.

Raymond James Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 39,643 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.13% of Avidity Biosciences worth $4,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,156,844 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the first quarter valued at about $12,729,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 92.5% in the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 772,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,798,000 after acquiring an additional 371,121 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,228,058 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,712,000 after buying an additional 356,114 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 523.1% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 279,828 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,261,000 after buying an additional 234,916 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Troy Edward Wilson sold 65,554 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $2,949,930.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,776 shares in the company, valued at $799,920. The trade was a 78.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 81,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total value of $3,480,489.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,661,175.58. This represents a 67.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 541,410 shares of company stock valued at $24,842,402. Insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RNA shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Avidity Biosciences to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $67.28.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock traded up $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $47.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,742,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,900,578. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.51 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.19 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.42.

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.