Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.44, but opened at $10.73. Wave Life Sciences shares last traded at $9.90, with a volume of 1,111,359 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WVE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Down 10.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.12 and a beta of -1.04.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.60 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. As a group, analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wave Life Sciences

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total value of $102,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,443.55. The trade was a 39.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 31.0% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 10,047,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378,159 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wave Life Sciences by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 6,712,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,033,000 after purchasing an additional 853,589 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,098,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,182,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,368,000 after purchasing an additional 294,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 3,162,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,119,000 after purchasing an additional 280,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

Wave Life Sciences Company Profile

Wave Life Sciences Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, designs, develops, and commercializes ribonucleic acid (RNA) medicines through PRISM, a discovery and drug development platform. The company's RNA medicines platform, PRISM, combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation, and deep insights into human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and prevalent disorders.