Gregory Verdine Sells 20,000 Shares of WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Stock

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Director Gregory Verdine sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.47, for a total transaction of $269,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 275,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,707,172.99. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WVE traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $20.23. 17,639,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,192,010. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.97 and a beta of -1.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.90. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 52 week low of $5.28 and a 52 week high of $21.73.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.85 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 111.64% and a negative return on equity of 75.61%. Research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WVE. Royal Bank Of Canada raised WAVE Life Sciences from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Monday. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $16.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 1,156.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 9,135 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 9,284 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the first quarter worth $83,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the third quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 18.7% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

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.