Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.71.

WVE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WVE opened at $5.86 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $730.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.19 and a beta of -1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.77. Wave Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $3.50 and a 52-week high of $7.67.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $19.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.80 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1,395.99% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wave Life Sciences 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 transaction of $279,555.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,075,361.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 50.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 13.6% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.