WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Up 8.1% – Here’s Why

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) traded up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $3.42 and last traded at $3.4280. Approximately 360,497 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 3,724,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WVE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair began coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group began coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wedbush set a $13.00 price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.53.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $664.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of -1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.64.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.04). WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Heidi Wagner sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $42,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,029.30. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $67,183.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,564 shares of company stock valued at $132,476 over the last ninety days. 24.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,465,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 68.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,541,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,052 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 42.6% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,149,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,202,000 after acquiring an additional 343,226 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 152.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 597,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,330,000 after purchasing an additional 360,800 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 12.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 361,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 39,759 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

About WAVE Life Sciences

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: WVE) is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that act on RNA, a molecule involved in translating genetic information into proteins. The company uses its proprietary chemistry and drug-design technologies to create oligonucleotide therapeutics intended to selectively modify RNA and address the underlying causes of genetic diseases.

Its research programs have included RNA editing and RNA-targeting approaches for conditions such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other serious genetic disorders.