Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.44, but opened at $10.73. Wave Life Sciences shares last traded at $9.90, with a volume of 1,111,359 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Up 6.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of -9.04 and a beta of -1.04.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.34. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. The business had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wave Life Sciences

In other Wave Life Sciences news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total value of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 338,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,238,019.07. The trade was a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 39.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wave Life Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WVE. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Wave Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.