Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $15.92 and last traded at $15.56, with a volume of 887288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WVE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.78.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.08. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.25 and a beta of -1.20.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.09). Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 1,395.99%. The business had revenue of $19.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. Research analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Wave Life Sciences

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Francis sold 208,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total transaction of $2,854,788.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 364,822 shares of company stock valued at $4,645,768. Insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 23.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.