Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys Shares of 17,971 Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 17,971 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 68.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $11,743,000 after purchasing an additional 103,905 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 229.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,047 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 50,908 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,179,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

RNA stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $28.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 654,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,433,459. 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 $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.89 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.62.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.40, for a total value 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 trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $1,877,437 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company's stock.

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.