Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes $1.54 Million Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 36,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 291.5% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Steven George Hughes sold 4,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total value of $354,642.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,289,347.55. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $127,367.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,562 shares in the company, valued at $1,199,916.90. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 58,407 shares of company stock valued at $4,226,448 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RNA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $72.00 target price on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Chardan Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.57.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $14.75 on Monday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.06 and a 52-week high of $15.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.97 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.91.

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

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.