WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.71, but opened at $8.17. WAVE Life Sciences shares last traded at $8.01, with a volume of 207,977 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WVE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered WAVE Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WAVE Life Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.15.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.83 and a 200-day moving average of $8.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.93 and a beta of -1.01.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory L. Verdine sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.95, for a total value of $208,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 282,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,963,493.15. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Finally, Knott David M Jr acquired a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the first quarter worth about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.73% of the company's stock.

WAVE Life Sciences Company 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.