Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Up 13.1% – Time to Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) shares traded up 13.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.44 and last traded at $10.62. 774,077 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 1,100,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WVE. Mizuho increased their price objective on Wave Life Sciences from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Trading Down 5.0 %

The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.25 and a beta of -1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.33.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.60 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Wave Life Sciences

In other Wave Life Sciences news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 29.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wave Life Sciences

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% during 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 increased its position in Wave Life Sciences by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 4,120 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.