Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Up 10.7% – Still a Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) shares rose 10.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.53 and last traded at $6.55. Approximately 278,922 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,136,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Wave Life Sciences Trading Up 5.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $960.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.64 and a beta of -0.93.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly 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. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. The firm had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wave Life Sciences

In other news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of Wave Life Sciences 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences 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 sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,443.55. This trade 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 Trading of Wave Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 132,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860 shares during the last quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 121,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 10,802 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 98,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 23,215 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Wave Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $4,482,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 557,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,894,000 after buying an additional 71,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.