Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, B. Riley Analyst Says

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) had its target price increased by research analysts at B. Riley from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. B. Riley’s price target points to a potential upside of 58.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WVE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Wave Life Sciences from $11.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Wave Life Sciences from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Wave Life Sciences from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on Wave Life Sciences from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.78.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of WVE stock opened at $13.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -24.28 and a beta of -1.20. Wave Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $3.50 and a 52-week high of $15.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.20 and its 200 day moving average is $6.97.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total transaction of $279,555.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,075,361.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 value of $279,555.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 359,059 shares in the company, valued at $2,075,361.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 364,822 shares of company stock worth $4,645,768 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WVE. Artal Group S.A. raised its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Artal Group S.A. now owns 4,051,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044,000 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 15.6% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 2,881,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,628,000 after buying an additional 388,280 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% in the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 2,123,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,412,000 after buying an additional 302,528 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 14.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,861,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,485,000 after acquiring an additional 233,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,834,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,316,000 after acquiring an additional 521,665 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.