Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Trading 6.5% Higher After Insider Buying Activity

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s stock price rose 6.5% on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $8.84 and last traded at $8.84. Approximately 616,495 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 986,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.30.

Specifically, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WVE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Friday, September 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.75.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.12 and a beta of -1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.86.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $19.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 62.2% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 908,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,531,000 after purchasing an additional 348,300 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Wave Life Sciences by 3.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 139,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 4,914 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,664,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,305,000 after acquiring an additional 28,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 6,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

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.