WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Up 8.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• WAVE Life Sciences shares rose 8.1% to about $3.43 during mid-day trading, although volume was roughly 90% below its average.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $21.53 target price; recent firms issued price targets ranging from $10 to $13.
• The company continues to face weak fundamentals, including a quarterly EPS loss of $0.34, revenue well below expectations, negative margins, and recent insider stock sales totaling about $132,000.

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 8.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $3.42 and last traded at $3.4280. 360,497 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 3,724,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WVE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut WAVE Life Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush set a $13.00 target price on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.53.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Up 6.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $665.65 million, a PE ratio of -3.10 and a beta of -1.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $4.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.69.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.45 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%. As a group, analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, Director Heidi Wagner sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $42,070.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,029.30. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $67,183.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,564 shares of company stock worth $132,476 over the last three months. Insiders own 24.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the second quarter worth $27,465,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 68.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,541,442 shares of the company's stock worth $14,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,052 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 42.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,149,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,202,000 after acquiring an additional 343,226 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 152.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 597,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,330,000 after acquiring an additional 360,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 361,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,619,000 after acquiring an additional 39,759 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.73% of the company's stock.

WAVE Life Sciences Company Profile

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing RNA medicines for genetic and other serious diseases. The company uses its proprietary oligonucleotide and RNA-editing technologies to target disease-causing genetic instructions, with the goal of selectively correcting, reducing, or modifying RNA activity.

Its development programs have included investigational therapies for conditions such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington's disease.

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