Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.60.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WVE shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Wave Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

Wave Life Sciences stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.03. 84,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,196. Wave Life Sciences has a 52 week low of $4.25 and a 52 week high of $16.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -7.23 and a beta of -1.04. The company's fifty day moving average is $10.73 and its 200-day moving average is $11.73.

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Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. The company had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This represents a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $157,443.55. This represents a 39.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $194,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 844,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,926,000 after acquiring an additional 571,345 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 168,141 shares of the company's stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 28,351 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 174.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,540,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,630,000 after purchasing an additional 979,110 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 477.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,828 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 34,588 shares in the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.