Steven George Hughes Sells 4,895 Shares of Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) Stock

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) insider Steven George Hughes sold 4,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.45, for a total transaction of $354,642.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,289,347.55. The trade was a 13.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Steven George Hughes also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, January 7th, Steven George Hughes sold 2,373 shares of Avidity Biosciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $171,401.79.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $72.60 on Friday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $72.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.37 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.92.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on RNA shares. Roth Mkm downgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avidity Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 123.0% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 1,635.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 642 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 22.8% in the third 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 period. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in Avidity Biosciences by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: CEO Sarah Boyce sold 14,387 shares for ~$1.04M (a 5.08% reduction in her holding). CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 4,542 shares for ~$329k (a 7.12% reduction). CFO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 6,534 shares for ~$473k (a 7.13% reduction). Insider Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Steven George Hughes sold 4,895 shares for ~$355k (a 13.41% reduction). Insider Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Teresa McCarthy sold 2,929 shares for ~$212k (a 2.51% reduction). Insider Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Director Arthur A. Levin sold 1,758 shares for ~$127k (a 9.60% reduction). Director Form 4

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.