WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Stock Keeps “Buy” Rating at B. Riley Financial

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at B. Riley Financial in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley Financial‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 438.12% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut WAVE Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $10.00 price objective on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WAVE Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.67.

WAVE Life Sciences Price Performance

WVE stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.35. The company had a trading volume of 304,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,691,127. WAVE Life Sciences has a 52 week low of $3.04 and a 52 week high of $21.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.89 and a 200 day moving average of $7.23. The company has a market cap of $659.73 million, a P/E ratio of -3.13 and a beta of -1.40.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 44.66% and a negative net margin of 296.86%. Research analysts expect that WAVE Life Sciences will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WAVE Life Sciences news, Director Heidi L. Wagner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $42,070.00. Following the sale, the director owned 44,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,029.30. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $67,183.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,564 shares of company stock worth $132,476 in the last three months. 24.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 29,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in WAVE Life Sciences by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in WAVE Life Sciences by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 5,228 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 23.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 8,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences during the third quarter valued at $48,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About WAVE Life Sciences

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: WVE) is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that act on RNA, a molecule involved in translating genetic information into proteins. The company uses its proprietary chemistry and drug-design technologies to create oligonucleotide therapeutics intended to selectively modify RNA and address the underlying causes of genetic diseases.

Its research programs have included RNA editing and RNA-targeting approaches for conditions such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other serious genetic disorders.