WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Trading Down 3.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• WAVE Life Sciences stock decreased by 3.5% recently, with a trading price of $7.13, significantly lower than its average session volume.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for WAVE Life Sciences, with an average target price of $20.33, highlighting optimism in the company's future performance.
• Insider trading activity indicates significant selling, with two directors offloading shares, leading to a 24.60% decrease in one director's holdings.

Shares of WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) dropped 3.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.17 and last traded at $7.13. Approximately 211,397 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,423,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WVE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $26.00 price target on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.33.

WAVE Life Sciences Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.49 and a 200-day moving average of $7.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -7.58 and a beta of -1.16.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.52 million. Equities analysts anticipate that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at WAVE Life Sciences

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 217,351 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $2,195,245.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 121,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,100. The trade was a 64.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ken Takanashi sold 4,872 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.75, for a total value of $42,630.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,716,303 shares in the company, valued at $50,017,651.25. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 241,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,423,068 in the last ninety days. 23.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,609 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Knott David M Jr acquired a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $81,000. 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.