Emerald Advisers LLC Acquires 280,859 Shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,162,369 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 280,859 shares during the quarter. Wave Life Sciences makes up 1.5% of Emerald Advisers LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 2.07% of Wave Life Sciences worth $39,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WVE. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Wave Life Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the third quarter worth approximately $123,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,000. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WVE shares. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wave Life Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.60.

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Wave Life Sciences Stock Down 10.1 %

NASDAQ:WVE traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.01. 1,710,902 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,108,939. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.12 and a beta of -1.04. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a 12 month low of $4.25 and a 12 month high of $16.74. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $10.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.63.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $83.75 million during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at $157,443.55. This trade represents a 39.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 29.10% 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.