Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 2.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $1,213,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,561,753.36. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.63, for a total transaction of $233,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,522.90. This represents a 25.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,543 shares of company stock valued at $5,782,042 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

RNA opened at $42.18 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.68 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of -14.65 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.31.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on RNA. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.22.

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.