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

Shares of WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.62, but opened at $7.32. WAVE Life Sciences shares last traded at $7.51, with a volume of 2,395,678 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $38.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $9.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $19.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.38.

WAVE Life Sciences Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of -5.60 and a beta of -1.31.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $17.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.68 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 478.35% and a negative return on equity of 85.69%. On average, equities analysts forecast that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, insider Chris Francis sold 33,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.05, for a total value of $499,569.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 61,867 shares in the company, valued at $931,098.35. This represents a 34.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kyle Moran sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.45, for a total transaction of $48,258.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,385 shares in the company, valued at $1,807,478.25. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,748 shares of company stock valued at $907,809. Company insiders own 23.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 5,823 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $176,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $457,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 179,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 38,806 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,278,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About WAVE Life Sciences

WAVE Life Sciences is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on the discovery and development of stereopure oligonucleotide therapies designed to address serious diseases with high unmet medical need. Leveraging proprietary chemistry and precision synthesis, WAVE engineers drug candidates with defined stereochemistry to optimize potency, safety and manufacturability. This approach aims to enhance target specificity and improve therapeutic profiles compared with traditional oligonucleotide medicines.

The company’s pipeline includes programs in neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and neurodegenerative conditions including Huntington’s disease, as well as early-stage cardiovascular and liver indications.