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

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WVE. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Trading Up 6.1 %

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

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.60 million. Equities analysts predict that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total transaction of $102,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,443.55. This trade represents a 39.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wave Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Wave Life Sciences by 209.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 844,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,926,000 after acquiring an additional 571,345 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 174.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,540,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,630,000 after purchasing an additional 979,110 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,970,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 171.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 100,498 shares during the period. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 255.7% in the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 356,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 256,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

Wave Life Sciences Company Profile

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.