Highbridge Capital Management LLC Takes $42.24 Million Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 585,550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,236,000. Avidity Biosciences accounts for 1.4% of Highbridge Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,219,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $575,985,000 after buying an additional 3,971,457 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $219,736,000. Bellevue Group AG bought a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $93,800,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,776,785 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $272,420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,044,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,641,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $376,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375,000 shares in the last quarter.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Down 4.1%

RNA opened at $11.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.86. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.77 and a 12 month high of $16.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.85 million, a P/E ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 0.93.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by $0.08. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 3,650.39% and a negative return on equity of 44.92%. The firm had revenue of $19.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.00 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.42.

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.