WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WVE. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of WAVE Life Sciences from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $9.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, December 8th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of WAVE Life Sciences from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.69.

WAVE Life Sciences Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of WVE stock opened at $13.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.25. WAVE Life Sciences has a 12-month low of $5.28 and a 12-month high of $21.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.93 and a beta of -1.78.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $9.85 million. WAVE Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 75.61% and a negative net margin of 111.64%. As a group, research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 1,470,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $27,930,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 18,245,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $346,668,129. The trade was a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 93,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.65, for a total transaction of $1,368,969.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,055. The trade was a 88.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 912,117 shares of company stock worth $13,464,044 in the last ninety days. 23.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 736.5% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 258,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 227,167 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $330,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in WAVE Life Sciences by 33.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,569,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,199,000 after purchasing an additional 390,078 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 678,144.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,750,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750,140 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 29.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 621,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,039,000 after purchasing an additional 142,109 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WAVE Life Sciences

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.