Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Up 10.7% – Here’s Why

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s share price traded up 10.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.53 and last traded at $6.55. 278,922 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,136,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WVE. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wedbush began coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.18.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.91 and a beta of -0.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.55.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.34. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. The company had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wave Life Sciences

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 6,712,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,033,000 after buying an additional 853,589 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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. raised its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,182,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,368,000 after purchasing an additional 294,956 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 9.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,470,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,571,000 after purchasing an additional 201,087 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Wave Life Sciences

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.