WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. $WVE Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. significantly increased its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 97.2% in Q1, owning a total of 78,880 shares valued at $637,000.
• WAVE Life Sciences has received positive ratings from several analysts, including a "buy" rating from Citigroup with a price objective of $16.00 and Oppenheimer with a target of $24.00.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 271,893 shares worth approximately $2.63 million in the last three months, indicating a notable decrease in their ownership stakes.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Free Report) by 97.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,880 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,870 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.05% of WAVE Life Sciences worth $637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WVE. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $12,370,000. MPM Bioimpact LLC boosted its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 1,489,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,422,000 after acquiring an additional 864,766 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 6,712,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,033,000 after acquiring an additional 853,589 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $10,463,000. Finally, Stempoint Capital LP boosted its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 140.4% in the fourth quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 721,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,921,000 after acquiring an additional 421,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company's stock.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WVE traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,792,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,103,132. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of -9.21 and a beta of -1.15. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $5.04 and a fifty-two week high of $16.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.90.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.52 million. On average, equities analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WVE shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.07.

Insider Transactions at WAVE Life Sciences

In other news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 217,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $2,195,245.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 121,000 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory L. Verdine sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 285,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,852,170. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 271,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,568 in the last three months. Corporate 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.