Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Decreases Stake in WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. $WVE

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. significantly reduced its stake in WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. by 95.1%, with remaining holdings valued at $221,000.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 89.73% of WAVE Life Sciences' stock, with several hedge funds recently increasing their positions.
• Analysts have varying ratings on WAVE Life Sciences, with a consensus target price of $20.07, despite recent earnings falling short of expectations.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its stake in WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Free Report) by 95.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,380 shares of the company's stock after selling 529,943 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in WAVE Life Sciences were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 247,251 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,349 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 4,957 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,974 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 6,015 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

WAVE Life Sciences stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,312,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,787. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $8.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.85. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 1-year low of $5.28 and a 1-year high of $16.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -8.21 and a beta of -1.15.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.52 million. Analysts anticipate that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WVE. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $26.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.33.

Insider Activity at WAVE Life Sciences

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, Director Ken Takanashi sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total value of $42,630.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,716,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,017,651.25. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 9,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $85,192.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,645 shares in the company, valued at $261,172.45. The trade was a 24.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 271,893 shares of company stock worth $2,631,568 over the last 90 days. 23.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.