First Trust Advisors LP Buys 45,254 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 110.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,254 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Avidity Biosciences worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RNA. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 25.2% in 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 period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $32.20 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.98. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.18 and a beta of 1.01.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.04). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The company had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 million. On average, analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.40, for a total transaction of $190,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,637,949.60. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 305,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,353.26. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock worth $1,877,437 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company's stock.

Avidity Biosciences 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.

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