WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered 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 research note on Friday. New Street Research set a $13.00 price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on WAVE Life Sciences from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.88.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of WVE stock opened at $5.51 on Friday. WAVE Life Sciences has a 1 year low of $5.02 and a 1 year high of $21.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -5.06 and a beta of -1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.98.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 309.73% and a negative return on equity of 52.61%. Equities research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 81,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 16,400 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 29.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 53,905 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $326,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 34.8% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 37,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in WAVE Life Sciences by 31.9% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 240,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 58,255 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting WAVE Life Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting WAVE Life Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WAVE said dosing is underway in the Phase 2a multidose portion of its INLIGHT trial evaluating WVE-007, an INHBE GalNAc-siRNA treatment, in people with obesity and related conditions. The study could also support future development in MASH, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases. WAVE Life Sciences Second-Quarter Results and Business Update
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup maintained a Buy rating despite lowering its price target from $24 to $19, implying significant potential upside from the current trading level. Benzinga analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush also retained an Outperform rating while reducing its target from $15 to $12, indicating analysts remain constructive on WVE’s pipeline despite lower near-term valuation expectations. The Fly analyst update
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted loss was $0.34 per share, worse than the $0.31 consensus estimate and the $0.31 loss reported a year earlier. WAVE Life Sciences Q2 Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $2.27 million substantially missed analysts’ $6.53 million expectation, reinforcing concerns about the company’s limited current commercial revenue and ongoing losses. WAVE Life Sciences Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: The reductions in both analyst price targets suggest expectations for WVE’s near-term valuation have moderated, even though the firms kept bullish ratings.

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.