Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Stock Price Down 5.3% – Should You Sell?

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) fell 5.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $9.53 and last traded at $9.54. 283,715 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,090,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WVE. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.12 and a beta of -1.04.

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

Insider Transactions at Wave Life Sciences

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total transaction of $102,585.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,443.55. The trade was a 39.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wave Life Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WVE. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Wave Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Wave Life Sciences during the third quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.