Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Trading Down 5% on Insider Selling

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) was down 5% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $12.87 and last traded at $12.98. Approximately 634,435 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,112,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.67.

Specifically, CEO Paul Bolno sold 51,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.32, for a total value of $733,670.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 217,351 shares in the company, valued at $3,112,466.32. This trade represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Francis sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $576,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WVE shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Wave Life Sciences from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James raised shares of Wave Life Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $11.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.89.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Up 10.6 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -12.80 and a beta of -1.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 13.6% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 50.2% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 125,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 2.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 156,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is currently 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.