Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,528 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,740 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RNA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,028,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,921,000 after acquiring an additional 38,749 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,308 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,758,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,784,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,459 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 6,089 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 5.6%

RNA opened at $31.70 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.31. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.57 and a beta of 0.91.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a negative net margin of 4,136.00%. On average, research analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RNA. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Chardan Capital upped their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avidity Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.35.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.48, for a total transaction of $190,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,641,993.92. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total value of $657,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,811.60. The trade was a 19.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,661 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,319 in the last quarter. 3.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.