Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Trading Down 5.3% – Here’s What Happened

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s share price traded down 5.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.53 and last traded at $9.54. 283,715 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,090,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WVE shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wave Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Down 6.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -8.50 and a beta of -1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.63.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wave Life Sciences news, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wave Life Sciences

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 36.0% in 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. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.