The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,687 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,546 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.14% of Wave Life Sciences worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WVE. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,098,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,074,000 after buying an additional 1,972,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,182,512 shares of the company's stock worth $39,368,000 after acquiring an additional 294,956 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in Wave Life Sciences by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 3,162,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,119,000 after acquiring an additional 280,859 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,470,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,571,000 after acquiring an additional 201,087 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,545,000. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WVE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Wave Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.17.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of Wave Life Sciences stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $6.39. 1,232,354 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,935. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.08. The company has a market capitalization of $984.64 million, a P/E ratio of -5.76 and a beta of -0.92. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a 1 year low of $4.25 and a 1 year high of $16.74.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wave Life Sciences

In other Wave Life Sciences news, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total transaction of $102,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $157,443.55. This trade represents a 39.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.10% of the company's stock.

About Wave Life Sciences

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.