D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $30.19 Million Stock Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 2,263.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 707,773 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.77% of Avidity Biosciences worth $30,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 39.0% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,497 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 32.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the first quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the first quarter valued at about $221,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Chardan Capital raised their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Avidity Biosciences from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $506,440.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 96,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,239,620. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Avidity Biosciences news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $506,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,239,620. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 28,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total value of $1,118,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,187,366.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 128,543 shares of company stock worth $5,543,382. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $42.33 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.82 and a 12 month high of $48.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of -14.35 and a beta of 0.89.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.11. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 32.89% and a negative net margin of 2,381.82%. The company had revenue of $2.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.09 million. Analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.