WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $3.64, but opened at $3.79. WAVE Life Sciences shares last traded at $3.7450, with a volume of 235,534 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WVE. Wedbush lowered their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $13.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WAVE Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.31.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $728.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of -1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.40.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%. Analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WAVE Life Sciences

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $67,183.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Heidi Wagner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $42,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,029.30. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,564 shares of company stock valued at $132,476. 24.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 152.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 597,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,330,000 after acquiring an additional 360,800 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 68.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,541,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,052 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,465,000. Elmind Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,613,000. Finally, Capstone Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,044,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

WAVE Life Sciences Company Profile

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: WVE) is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that target RNA, the biological molecule that helps translate genetic information into proteins. The company uses its oligonucleotide chemistry and delivery technologies to pursue treatments for genetically defined diseases, including conditions affecting the liver, muscles and nervous system.

WAVE’s research programs include RNA editing medicines designed to correct or modify disease-related genetic messages without permanently altering DNA.