Insider Selling: WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Director Sells $23,222.64 in Stock

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Director Ken Takanashi sold 3,864 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 $23,222.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,674.79. This trade represents a 16.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Up 4.0%

WVE stock opened at $5.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.96 and a beta of -1.26. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 12 month low of $5.01 and a 12 month high of $21.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.40.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced 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). 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 return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%. On average, research analysts expect that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WVE shares. Zacks Research upgraded WAVE Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on WAVE Life Sciences from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WAVE Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.53.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WVE. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 16,400 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 53,905 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter valued at about $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 valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 37,526 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 58,255 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WAVE Life Sciences Company Profile

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.