Baker BROS. Advisors LP Buys New Shares in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 625,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,231,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1,635.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 291.5% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1,659.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, insider Charles Calderaro III sold 3,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $269,201.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,596,837.31. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 6,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $473,388.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 85,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,164,987.85. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,407 shares of company stock worth $4,226,448. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $13.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.67. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.57 and a 12 month high of $16.77.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.24) by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3,650.39% and a negative return on equity of 44.92%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore set a $72.00 price target on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.79.

Avidity Biosciences Profile

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.