FNY Investment Advisers LLC Buys 43,380 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 571.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 50,976 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,380 shares during the period. Avidity Biosciences accounts for about 1.0% of FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $3,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 55.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 899,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,194,000 after purchasing an additional 319,282 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 487,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,259,000 after buying an additional 45,144 shares in the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth $2,265,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 392,644 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,107,000 after buying an additional 120,365 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 157.0% during the third 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore set a $72.00 price objective on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avidity Biosciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.42.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of RNA stock opened at $13.44 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.95 and a 12 month high of $16.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.30.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($1.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.24) by ($0.35). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3,650.39% and a negative return on equity of 44.92%. The business had revenue of $0.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 6,534 shares of the 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 $473,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,164,987.85. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven George Hughes sold 4,895 shares of the 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 $354,642.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,289,347.55. This trade represents a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 58,407 shares of company stock worth $4,226,448 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company’s stock.

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.