WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Stock Price Down 7.1% – Here’s What Happened

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) shares were down 7.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $15.75 and last traded at $15.7950. Approximately 1,133,934 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 13,613,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WVE. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $20.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded WAVE Life Sciences from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $28.00 price target on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.67.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Down 7.2%

The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of -21.03 and a beta of -1.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.30 and a 200-day moving average of $9.04.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.85 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 75.61% and a negative net margin of 111.64%. As a group, equities analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at WAVE Life Sciences

In related news, CFO Kyle Moran sold 50,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total transaction of $1,002,221.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,036.54. This trade represents a 35.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Verdine sold 20,000 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.47, for a total value of $269,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 275,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,707,172.99. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 902,742 shares of company stock worth $13,313,763. Company insiders own 23.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WVE. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 1,156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 9,135 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 9,284 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 18.7% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 3,609 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the second quarter worth about $80,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WAVE Life Sciences

WAVE Life Sciences is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on the discovery and development of stereopure oligonucleotide therapies designed to address serious diseases with high unmet medical need. Leveraging proprietary chemistry and precision synthesis, WAVE engineers drug candidates with defined stereochemistry to optimize potency, safety and manufacturability. This approach aims to enhance target specificity and improve therapeutic profiles compared with traditional oligonucleotide medicines.

The company’s pipeline includes programs in neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and neurodegenerative conditions including Huntington’s disease, as well as early-stage cardiovascular and liver indications.