Rhumbline Advisers Raises Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 7.1%, owning approximately 164,776 shares worth about $4.86 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Several other investors also increased their stakes, with Parallel Advisors LLC growing its investment by 43.3%, bringing its total to 1,705 shares valued at $50,000.
• Equities research analysts are bullish on Avidity Biosciences, with a consensus average target price of $68.33 and multiple firms issuing "buy" ratings.

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,776 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 10,973 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.14% of Avidity Biosciences worth $4,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RNA. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $628,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 193,586 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,629,000 after buying an additional 30,340 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 27,950 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 23,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 5,405 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RNA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $62.00 price objective (up from $59.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, August 8th. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $68.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 81,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total transaction of $3,480,489.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,661,175.58. This represents a 67.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Troy Edward Wilson sold 65,554 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 17,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,920. This represents a 78.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 540,499 shares of company stock valued at $24,814,854 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ RNA traded up $1.75 on Thursday, hitting $41.81. 4,217,038 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,640,769. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.00. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.51 and a 12 month high of $56.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.74 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.