Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 902,945 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the previous session's volume of 1,241,972 shares.The stock last traded at $7.87 and had previously closed at $8.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.94 and a beta of -0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average is $7.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.24.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.02). Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. The company had revenue of $9.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wave Life Sciences

In other news, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,443.55. The trade was a 39.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 338,351 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WVE. Privium Fund Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 113,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 25,550 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 16.7% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 6,015 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 35,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 13,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 150.0% during the 1st quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 105,000 shares of the company's stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 63,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.