Short Interest in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Rises By 19.2%

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,940,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 8,340,000 shares. Currently, 9.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.6 days.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

WVE traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.74. 145,973 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,203. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.08 and a beta of -0.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.50. Wave Life Sciences has a one year low of $4.25 and a one year high of $16.74.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.60 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Wave Life Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WVE. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,885 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,579 shares of the company's stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 4,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WVE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush assumed coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.18.

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.