WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research downgraded shares of WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research set a $13.00 target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $31.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WAVE Life Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.53.

WAVE Life Sciences Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of WVE opened at $5.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.82 and a beta of -1.26. WAVE Life Sciences has a 12 month low of $5.01 and a 12 month high of $21.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.15.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.04). WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%.The business had revenue of $2.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 million. As a group, research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WAVE Life Sciences

In related news, Director Heidi L. Wagner sold 7,000 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $42,070.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,029.30. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $67,183.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,564 shares of company stock valued at $132,476 in the last three months. Company insiders own 24.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WVE. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 6,729.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 645.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 9,284 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WAVE Life Sciences

WAVE Life Sciences is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on the discovery and development of stereopure oligonucleotide therapies designed to address serious diseases with high unmet medical need. Leveraging proprietary chemistry and precision synthesis, WAVE engineers drug candidates with defined stereochemistry to optimize potency, safety and manufacturability. This approach aims to enhance target specificity and improve therapeutic profiles compared with traditional oligonucleotide medicines.

The company’s pipeline includes programs in neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and neurodegenerative conditions including Huntington’s disease, as well as early-stage cardiovascular and liver indications.