Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 134.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,817 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,497 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 32.4% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 72,972 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,878 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.73, for a total value of $228,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,175.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.73, for a total value of $228,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,830 shares in the company, valued at $678,175.90. 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 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total transaction of $1,118,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,187,366.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,011,490. 3.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RNA. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Chardan Capital increased their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $44.48 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.82 and a 1-year high of $48.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.08 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.91.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.