WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Up 6.8% – Time to Buy?

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) shares were up 6.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.94 and last traded at $15.1890. Approximately 393,180 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 5,149,302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WVE. Royal Bank Of Canada raised WAVE Life Sciences from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, December 8th. 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 report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $36.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.67.

WAVE Life Sciences Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of -19.79 and a beta of -1.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.52.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.61 million during 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, analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total value of $1,002,221.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 89,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,036.54. This represents a 35.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 1,470,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $27,930,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,245,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,668,129. This trade represents a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 912,117 shares of company stock worth $13,464,044. 23.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,156.3% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 9,135 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 9,284 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,609 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

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.