Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) Holdings Cut by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P.’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $1,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RNA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,474 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,568 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, CFO Michael F. Maclean sold 7,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $246,461.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 96,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,004,123.20. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.40, for a total value of $190,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,637,949.60. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,437. 3.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.69.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Down 18.6 %

Shares of RNA opened at $26.26 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.12 and a beta of 1.00. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.51 and a 12 month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.04). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The company had revenue of $2.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 million. Equities research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.