Profund Advisors LLC Buys 10,330 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 37.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 37,654 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 10,330 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atle Fund Management AB bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth $2,265,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 44.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 120,365 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 157.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 45,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 28,055 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,261,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 487,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,259,000 after purchasing an additional 45,144 shares during the period.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $72.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.44 and a beta of 0.93. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.51 and a 1-year high of $73.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.42.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.22). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,634.59% and a negative return on equity of 37.70%. The business had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 420.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,758 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total value of $127,367.10. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 4,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $329,067.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,560.50. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,407 shares of company stock valued at $4,226,448. Insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RNA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Evercore set a $72.00 target price on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, December 18th. HC Wainwright downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $87.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.57.

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.