WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Trading Down 6.6% – Here’s What Happened

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s stock price traded down 6.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $4.10 and last traded at $4.0650. Approximately 376,764 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 3,767,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WVE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut WAVE Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on WAVE Life Sciences from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WAVE Life Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.31.

WAVE Life Sciences Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.74. The company has a market capitalization of $789.19 million, a P/E ratio of -3.68 and a beta of -1.30.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.04). WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%.The business had revenue of $2.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 million. On average, research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at WAVE Life Sciences

In related news, Director Heidi L. Wagner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $42,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at $270,029.30. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $67,183.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,564 shares of company stock valued at $132,476 over the last three months. 24.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 68.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 17.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 5,228 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,465,000. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WAVE Life Sciences Company Profile

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: WVE) is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that target RNA, the biological molecule that helps translate genetic information into proteins. The company uses its oligonucleotide chemistry and delivery technologies to pursue treatments for genetically defined diseases, including conditions affecting the liver, muscles and nervous system.

WAVE’s research programs include RNA editing medicines designed to correct or modify disease-related genetic messages without permanently altering DNA.