WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Down 4.3% – Should You Sell?

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s share price was down 4.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $15.87 and last traded at $15.6380. Approximately 400,734 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,680,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WVE shares. Wall Street Zen raised WAVE Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Wedbush boosted their price target on WAVE Life Sciences from $20.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.13.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.74 and a beta of -1.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.26.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 75.61% and a negative net margin of 111.64%.The firm had revenue of $7.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.85 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 1,470,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $27,930,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 18,245,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $346,668,129. This represents a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 42,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $630,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,500. This trade represents a 76.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 902,742 shares of company stock worth $13,313,763. Insiders own 23.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,156.3% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 9,135 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 9,284 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. 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.