Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.44, but opened at $14.97. Wave Life Sciences shares last traded at $15.73, with a volume of 100,749 shares trading hands.

The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.19). Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 694.73% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. The business had revenue of ($7.68) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.45 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded Wave Life Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $13.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $7.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences from $11.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut Wave Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the firm’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 $2,075,361.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Wave Life Sciences news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 48,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $279,555.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 359,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,075,361.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 400,822 shares of company stock valued at $5,221,768 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WVE. Privium Fund Management B.V. purchased a new position in Wave Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $400,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 303,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 123,703 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $668,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,834,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,316,000 after acquiring an additional 521,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 62.2% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 908,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,531,000 after acquiring an additional 348,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.73% of the company’s stock.

Wave Life Sciences Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.40 and a 200-day moving average of $7.41.

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.