Wave Life Sciences’ (WVE) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $22.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WVE. StockNews.com upgraded Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ WVE opened at $10.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.64. Wave Life Sciences has a one year low of $4.25 and a one year high of $16.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.03 and a beta of -1.04.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 2,073 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,120 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 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.