WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Stock Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.03 and traded as low as $12.75. WAVE Life Sciences shares last traded at $12.94, with a volume of 2,326,426 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WVE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $12.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on WAVE Life Sciences from $36.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $20.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $28.00 price objective on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WAVE Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.67.

WAVE Life Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.25 and a beta of -1.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.03 and its 200-day moving average is $10.07.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.85 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 111.64% and a negative return on equity of 75.61%. Equities research analysts expect that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Francis sold 9,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.03, for a total value of $150,281.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,750. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kyle Moran sold 50,036 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total value of $1,002,221.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,787,036.54. This represents a 35.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 912,117 shares of company stock worth $13,464,044. 23.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WAVE Life Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in WAVE Life Sciences by 6,729.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 1,156.3% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 9,135 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 9,284 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WAVE Life Sciences Company Profile

WAVE Life Sciences is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on the discovery and development of stereopure oligonucleotide therapies designed to address serious diseases with high unmet medical need. Leveraging proprietary chemistry and precision synthesis, WAVE engineers drug candidates with defined stereochemistry to optimize potency, safety and manufacturability. This approach aims to enhance target specificity and improve therapeutic profiles compared with traditional oligonucleotide medicines.

The company’s pipeline includes programs in neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and neurodegenerative conditions including Huntington’s disease, as well as early-stage cardiovascular and liver indications.