US Bancorp DE Cuts Stake in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

US Bancorp DE lessened its position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,513 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Wave Life Sciences were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WVE. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 109,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 14.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 63,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 8,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James J. Burns & Company LLC grew its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 111,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WVE shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Wave Life Sciences from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total value of $1,617,569.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

Shares of WVE opened at $10.17 on Tuesday. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a 1-year low of $4.25 and a 1-year high of $16.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.16 and a beta of -1.04.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.60 million. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. On average, equities analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.