WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $4.63 and last traded at $4.6940, with a volume of 324311 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $4.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WVE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered WAVE Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research cut WAVE Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.31.

WAVE Life Sciences Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $927.12 million, a PE ratio of -4.32 and a beta of -1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.35.

WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.04). WAVE Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 309.73% and a negative return on equity of 50.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WAVE Life Sciences

In related news, Director Heidi Wagner sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $42,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,029.30. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Adrian Rawcliffe sold 12,700 shares of WAVE Life Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $67,183.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,564 shares of company stock valued at $132,476. 24.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WAVE Life Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 645.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 9,284 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,609 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new stake in WAVE Life Sciences in the second quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WAVE Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.