Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 198,907 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,784,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of Avidity Biosciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $274,280,000 after buying an additional 205,027 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,106,097 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $235,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 8.6% in 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 38,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 799,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $23,236,000 after purchasing an additional 12,548 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of RNA stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $30.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 917,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,174. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 1.01. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.58.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. Research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.83, for a total value of $163,501.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,917.82. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,803 shares of company stock worth $1,876,027. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RNA. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.69.

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.