Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Trading Up 5.4% - Should You Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) shot up 5.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $6.16 and last traded at $6.33. 47,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 1,178,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WVE. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.18.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $908.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.33 and a beta of -0.93. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $8.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.57.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wave Life Sciences 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $157,443.55. This trade represents a 39.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $123,000. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.