Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $5.78 Million Investment in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 198,907 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,784,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $274,280,000 after acquiring an additional 205,027 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,106,097 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,725,000 after buying an additional 1,075,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $82,832,000 after buying an additional 222,152 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,028,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,921,000 after buying an additional 38,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 799,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,236,000 after acquiring an additional 12,548 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of RNA opened at $30.93 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.51 and a 12 month high of $56.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Insider Activity

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 7,935 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $246,461.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 96,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,123.20. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total value of $163,501.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,917.82. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 60,803 shares of company stock worth $1,876,027. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.