Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. $RNA

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,158,603 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,570,000. Avidity Biosciences accounts for 0.8% of Magnetar Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth $27,229,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth $1,803,000. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth $40,826,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 15,331.6% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 868,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,623,000 after acquiring an additional 873,900 shares during the period. Finally, Yakira Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth $5,839,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on RNA. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avidity Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Avidity Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.25.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

RNA opened at $12.61 on Wednesday. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.40 and a 52-week high of $16.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.71 million, a PE ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.77.

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

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.