Vestcor Inc Takes $14.43 Million Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,426,000. Vestcor Inc owned 0.13% of Avidity Biosciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,649,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $984,520,000 after buying an additional 429,491 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,065,187 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $438,540,000 after buying an additional 815,497 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 18.9% during the third quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,641,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $376,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375,000 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,645,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $333,093,000 after purchasing an additional 595,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,776,785 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $272,420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,316 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on RNA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Avidity Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.42.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RNA opened at $11.80 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 0.93. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.77 and a 1 year high of $16.77.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by $0.08. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3,650.39% and a negative return on equity of 44.92%. The firm had revenue of $19.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.00 million. On average, analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

About Avidity Biosciences

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.