Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $15.92 and last traded at $15.56, with a volume of 887288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WVE. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wave Life Sciences from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Wave Life Sciences from $11.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Wave Life Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.78.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Up 10.9 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.17.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $19.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wave Life Sciences

In other news, insider Chris Francis sold 208,836 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total transaction of $2,854,788.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Wave Life Sciences news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,075,361.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Francis sold 208,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total transaction of $2,854,788.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 364,822 shares of company stock worth $4,645,768. 29.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $194,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 14.9% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 63,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 8,255 shares during the period. Privium Fund Management B.V. acquired a new position in Wave Life Sciences during the third quarter worth about $400,000. James J. Burns & Company LLC raised its position in Wave Life Sciences by 11.2% in the third quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC now owns 100,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 10,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 2,881,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,628,000 after acquiring an additional 388,280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.