Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.28 and last traded at $13.15, with a volume of 1950650 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WVE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Wave Life Sciences Trading Up 70.9 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.47 and a beta of -1.10.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $19.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.80 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 1,395.99%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $279,555.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,075,361.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $279,555.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 359,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,075,361.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.