Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lessened its holdings in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Avidity Biosciences by 646.3% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in 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 period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avidity Biosciences news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $979,632.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $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. Insiders have sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,437 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RNA. Citigroup began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $66.38.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

NASDAQ RNA traded up $1.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.03. 284,151 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,471,732. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.32. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.51 and a 12-month high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.02). Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 million. Research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avidity Biosciences 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.