Driehaus Capital Management LLC Has $51.38 Million Position in WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. $WVE

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 5.3%, selling 353,850 shares during the first quarter, and now owns approximately 4.13% of the company valued at $51.4 million.
• Insider selling activity was noted as both CEO Paul Bolno and a director sold significant shares on August 22, with Bolno reportedly reducing his ownership by 64.24%.
• WAVE Life Sciences reported a loss of ($0.31) earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations and drawing forecasts of -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,358,599 shares of the company's stock after selling 353,850 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 4.13% of WAVE Life Sciences worth $51,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WVE. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Knott David M Jr bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter worth $81,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences in the first quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. Institutional investors own 89.73% of the company's stock.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WVE traded down $0.33 on Monday, reaching $9.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,230,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,976. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 1-year low of $5.04 and a 1-year high of $16.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -10.67 and a beta of -1.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $8.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.94.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.52 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WVE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded WAVE Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory L. Verdine sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.95, for a total transaction of $208,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 282,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,963,493.15. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 217,351 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $2,195,245.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 121,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,222,100. This represents a 64.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 271,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,568 in the last three months. Insiders own 23.98% of the company's stock.

WAVE Life Sciences 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.