Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.18.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WVE shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Wave Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WVE traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $6.70. The stock had a trading volume of 467,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,466. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.04 and a beta of -0.93. Wave Life Sciences has a 52 week low of $4.25 and a 52 week high of $16.74.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.60 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. On average, analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wave Life Sciences

In related news, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $157,443.55. The trade was 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 available at 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 value of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,238,019.07. The trade was a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 6,712,449 shares of the company's stock worth $83,033,000 after acquiring an additional 853,589 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,098,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,074,000 after buying an additional 1,972,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,182,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,368,000 after acquiring an additional 294,956 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 3,162,369 shares of the company's stock worth $39,119,000 after purchasing an additional 280,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,470,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,571,000 after acquiring an additional 201,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.