Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. Buys New Stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. bought a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 114,236 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,977,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. owned about 0.08% of Avidity Biosciences as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 899,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,194,000 after purchasing an additional 319,282 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 487,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,259,000 after purchasing an additional 45,144 shares during the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $2,265,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 44.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 392,644 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,107,000 after buying an additional 120,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 157.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 45,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 28,055 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 6,534 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total value of $473,388.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,093 shares in the company, valued at $6,164,987.85. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles Calderaro III sold 3,727 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 49,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,596,837.31. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 58,407 shares of company stock valued at $4,226,448 over the last 90 days. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 5.4%

NASDAQ RNA opened at $13.75 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.57 and a 12 month high of $16.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.97 and a 200-day moving average of $59.67.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.24) by ($0.35). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 44.92% and a negative net margin of 3,650.39%.The company had revenue of $0.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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.