WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WVE. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on WAVE Life Sciences from $31.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair assumed coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut WAVE Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered WAVE Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.53.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Down 1.9%

WAVE Life Sciences stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.13. The company had a trading volume of 3,281,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,360,070. WAVE Life Sciences has a 52 week low of $3.04 and a 52 week high of $21.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.44 and a 200-day moving average of $5.73. The firm has a market cap of $617.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.87 and a beta of -1.43.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%. On average, analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, Director Heidi Wagner sold 7,000 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $42,070.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,029.30. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value 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 worth $132,476 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 24.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WVE. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at $180,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 68.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,541,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,052 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 5,228 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,465,000. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

About WAVE Life Sciences

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing RNA medicines for genetic and other serious diseases. The company uses its proprietary oligonucleotide and RNA-editing technologies to target disease-causing genetic instructions, with the goal of selectively correcting, reducing, or modifying RNA activity.

Its development programs have included investigational therapies for conditions such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease.