Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Raymond James

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $22.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $13.00. Raymond James’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 46.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WVE. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Wave Life Sciences from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Wave Life Sciences from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.11.

Wave Life Sciences Trading Up 75.1 %

WVE stock traded up $6.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.99. 13,883,550 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,714. Wave Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $3.50 and a 52-week high of $15.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.54 and its 200-day moving average is $6.04. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.30 and a beta of -1.10.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS 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 in the prior year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total transaction of $279,555.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,075,361.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,075,361.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 50.2% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wave Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Wave Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $104,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by 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.