Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 38,749 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,028,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 38,749 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.86% of Avidity Biosciences worth $29,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of RNA. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,030,949 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $322,931,000 after buying an additional 3,228,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,706,106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $216,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386,087 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,896,166 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $224,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,323 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,300,408 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $289,378,000 after purchasing an additional 900,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,848,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $773,864,000 after purchasing an additional 689,729 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on RNA shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Up 8.7 %

Shares of Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $33.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.75 and a beta of 1.02. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.56 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.77.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its 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). Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. The company had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In related news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 12,742 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $416,153.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,372,651.02. This represents a 14.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 3,287 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.59, for a total transaction of $93,975.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 104,655 shares in the company, valued at $2,992,086.45. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,138 shares of company stock worth $2,539,032. Corporate insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Profile

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.