Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WVE. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James upgraded Wave Life Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Wave Life Sciences from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Wave Life Sciences from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.78.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.17.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.09). Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1,395.99% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. The firm had revenue of $19.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wave Life Sciences

In other news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $279,555.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,075,361.02. This represents a 0.00 % 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. In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total transaction of $279,555.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,075,361.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 364,822 shares of company stock valued at $4,645,768 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 50.2% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wave Life Sciences Company Profile

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.