Sarah Boyce Sells 8,576 Shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) CEO Sarah Boyce sold 8,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $619,444.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 283,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,469,548.62. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

RNA stock opened at $72.37 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $72.61. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.31 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $71.41 and its 200 day moving average is $52.89.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $12.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,634.59% and a negative return on equity of 37.70%. Avidity Biosciences’s quarterly revenue was up 420.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Chardan Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Avidity Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $52.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avidity Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.57.

Key Stories Impacting Avidity Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Avidity Biosciences this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: W. Michael Flanagan sold 2,373 shares (~$171.4k), reducing his stake ~2.52%. SEC filing – Flanagan sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael F. Maclean (CFO) sold 1,974 shares (~$142.6k), a ~3.00% decrease in his ownership. SEC filing – Maclean sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Teresa McCarthy sold 1,965 shares (~$141.9k), reducing her stake ~1.65%. SEC filing – McCarthy sale
• Negative Sentiment: Steven George Hughes sold 2,373 shares (~$171.4k), a ~6.11% reduction in his position — larger proportional sale that may draw investor scrutiny. SEC filing – Hughes sale
• Negative Sentiment: John B. Moriarty sold 2,374 shares (~$171.5k), a ~3.09% drop in his holdings. SEC filing – Moriarty sale
• Negative Sentiment: Charles Calderaro III sold 3,727 shares (~$269.2k), a ~6.96% reduction — one of the larger proportional sales among insiders. SEC filing – Calderaro sale
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Sarah Boyce sold 8,576 shares (~$619.4k), reducing her stake ~2.94%; CEO sales tend to attract investor attention despite modest percentage change. SEC filing – Boyce sale

Institutional Trading of Avidity Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RNA. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 1,635.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 291.5% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period.

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate (AOC) therapies designed to address serious neuromuscular and cardiac diseases. The company’s proprietary AOC platform combines the targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the gene-modulating power of oligonucleotides to deliver therapeutic agents directly into muscle cells. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, Avidity seeks to overcome traditional delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines by leveraging receptor-mediated uptake mechanisms.

The company’s lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is in clinical development for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and represents the first application of the AOC platform in a human study.