WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,308,745 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 2,569,282 shares.The stock last traded at $17.0610 and had previously closed at $20.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $30.00 price objective on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $19.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WAVE Life Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.46.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Down 16.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of -22.65 and a beta of -1.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.27 and its 200 day moving average is $7.90.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). WAVE Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 111.64% and a negative return on equity of 75.61%. The company had revenue of $7.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.85 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kyle Moran sold 210,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.77, for a total transaction of $3,101,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,317,749.86. This trade represents a 70.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Francis sold 441,031 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total value of $6,425,821.67. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,250. This represents a 94.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 902,742 shares of company stock worth $13,313,763. Insiders own 23.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WVE. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,206,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after buying an additional 23,891 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 5.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 963,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,782,000 after buying an additional 48,656 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the 1st quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

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.