Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Sells 23,752 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,057 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 23,752 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Avidity Biosciences were worth $3,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RNA. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Avidity Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at $386,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Avidity Biosciences by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,431,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $274,280,000 after purchasing an additional 205,027 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 363,017 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,557,000 after purchasing an additional 59,295 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Avidity Biosciences by 229.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 50,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Avidity Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,179,000.

Insider Activity at Avidity Biosciences

In other news, CEO Sarah Boyce sold 31,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $979,632.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 305,871 shares in the company, valued at $9,500,353.26. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathleen P. Gallagher sold 5,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.40, for a total transaction of $190,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,637,949.60. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,803 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,437 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ RNA opened at $27.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.68 and a beta of 1.00. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.40.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.90) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on RNA shares. Citigroup started coverage on Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $63.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment 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 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.