Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stake in WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. $WVE

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 557,644 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,624 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.36% of WAVE Life Sciences worth $4,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Knott David M Jr purchased a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $81,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $83,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $129,000. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 217,351 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $2,195,245.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 121,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,100. This represents a 64.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Verdine sold 10,000 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 285,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,852,170. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 241,893 shares of company stock worth $2,423,068. Insiders own 23.98% of the company’s stock.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock opened at $6.80 on Thursday. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 52-week low of $5.28 and a 52-week high of $16.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.46 and a 200-day moving average of $7.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.56 and a beta of -1.15.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.52 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WVE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners set a $26.00 price objective on WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.33.

WAVE Life Sciences 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.