Sofinnova Investments Inc. Trims Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Sofinnova Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 745,116 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 130,809 shares during the period. Avidity Biosciences accounts for about 2.2% of Sofinnova Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Sofinnova Investments Inc. owned 0.48% of Avidity Biosciences worth $53,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 899,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,194,000 after buying an additional 319,282 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 179,103 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,804,000 after purchasing an additional 113,545 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 304,828 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,281,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,219,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $575,985,000 after purchasing an additional 3,971,457 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,202,384 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,388,000 after purchasing an additional 420,476 shares during the period.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 3.1%

RNA stock opened at $12.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.08 and a 200 day moving average of $41.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.10 million, a PE ratio of -2.57 and a beta of 0.93. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.40 and a 52 week high of $16.77.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RNA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.29.

Avidity Biosciences Company 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.