Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys Shares of 27,100 Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 217.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,474 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RNA. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.20.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $30.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of -10.64 and a beta of 1.00. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.30 and a 52 week high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total transaction of $858,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,054,364.53. This trade represents a 21.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,040,384.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 265,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,664,959.28. This trade represents a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 129,138 shares of company stock worth $4,229,012 over the last 90 days. 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.