Neo Ivy Capital Management Sells 75,876 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Key Points

• Neo Ivy Capital Management has significantly reduced its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 78.9%, selling 75,876 shares, and now holds 20,244 shares valued at $598,000.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their holdings in Avidity Biosciences, including Janus Henderson Group, which saw a 44.1% rise in their position, now owning over 7 million shares.
• Avidity Biosciences' stock has received positive analyst upgrades, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $66.35, indicating positive market expectations for the company.

Neo Ivy Capital Management cut its holdings in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA - Free Report) by 78.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,244 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 75,876 shares during the quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management's holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 123.2% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,237 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Avidity Biosciences from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.35.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, insider W. Michael Flanagan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total value of $657,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,811.60. This trade represents a 19.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 911 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.24, for a total transaction of $27,548.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,854.08. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,661 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,319 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.83% of the company's stock.

Avidity Biosciences Trading Up 6.3%

RNA stock traded up $2.26 on Wednesday, hitting $38.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,136,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,249. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.71 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.60. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.63 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 26.96% and a negative net margin of 4,136.00%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 EPS 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.