Woodline Partners LP Has $25.18 Million Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 865,820 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 187,666 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.73% of Avidity Biosciences worth $25,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,568 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $30.58. 455,159 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,434,793. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.09 and its 200-day moving average is $32.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of -10.62 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 9,578 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $297,492.68. Following the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,437 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.38.

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.