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

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Knott David M Jr purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, Allostery Investments LP purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WVE shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $26.00 price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WAVE Life Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.33.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $7.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 634,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,288. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 52-week low of $5.28 and a 52-week high of $16.74. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.79 and a beta of -1.15. The firm's 50-day moving average is $8.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.82.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.52 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WAVE Life Sciences

In other news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 217,351 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $2,195,245.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 121,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,100. This represents a 64.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 9,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $85,192.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,645 shares of the company's stock, 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 241,893 shares of company stock worth $2,423,068 over the last 90 days. Company 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.