Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 1,972,262 Shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Free Report) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,098,866 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,972,262 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 3.34% of Wave Life Sciences worth $63,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WVE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,182,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,368,000 after acquiring an additional 294,956 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 3,162,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,119,000 after purchasing an additional 280,859 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,470,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,571,000 after buying an additional 201,087 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $20,545,000. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,555,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WVE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.17.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WVE traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,725,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,665. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $4.25 and a fifty-two week high of $16.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.30 and a beta of -0.93. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $8.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.47.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. The company had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. Equities analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wave Life Sciences

In other Wave Life Sciences news, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total value of $102,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at $157,443.55. The trade was a 39.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.