Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Acquires New Shares in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 355,691 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,656,000. Avidity Biosciences makes up about 2.5% of Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd owned 0.23% of Avidity Biosciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 426.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 1,659.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on RNA shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.25.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $12.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.71 million, a PE ratio of -2.54 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.06 and a 200 day moving average of $40.77.

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