44,898 Shares in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 44,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 132.1% during the 1st quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,825,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $148,654,000 after purchasing an additional 3,315,000 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4,661.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,242,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,730 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,282,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,761,000 after purchasing an additional 827,647 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,190,000 after purchasing an additional 707,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the first quarter worth about $15,467,000.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 15.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ RNA opened at $42.18 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.20. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.68 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.65 and a beta of 0.91.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RNA has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.22.

Insider Activity

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 13,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $578,732.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,792. This trade represents a 16.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 32,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 234,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,325,172. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,543 shares of company stock worth $5,782,042 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Profile

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.