Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $275,000 Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,450 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RNA. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,030,949 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $322,931,000 after buying an additional 3,228,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,706,106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $216,151,000 after buying an additional 1,386,087 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 33.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,239,323 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% in 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 buying an additional 900,000 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,848,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $773,864,000 after buying an additional 689,729 shares during the period.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 0.2 %

Avidity Biosciences stock opened at $30.29 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.34 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 27.66% and a negative net margin of 2,772.45%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 24,000 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total value of $858,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,054,364.53. The trade was a 21.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $188,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,625,816.64. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,138 shares of company stock valued at $4,229,012. 3.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on RNA. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.64.

Avidity Biosciences Company 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.