Renaissance Technologies LLC Invests $15.42 Million in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 377,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,417,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.39% of Avidity Biosciences at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 456.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,308 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at $205,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on RNA shares. Chardan Capital upped their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

RNA opened at $44.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.09. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.82 and a twelve month high of $48.80. The firm has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.08 and a beta of 0.89.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.11. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,381.82% and a negative return on equity of 32.89%. The business had revenue of $2.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total transaction of $225,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,498.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total transaction of $1,213,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,888,614.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.01, for a total transaction of $225,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,498.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,011,490 in the last 90 days. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by 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.