Short Interest in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Grows By 19.2%

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,940,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 8,340,000 shares. Approximately 9.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wave Life Sciences

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total value of $1,617,569.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 338,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total transaction of $102,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,443.55. This trade represents a 39.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wave Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WVE. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Wave Life Sciences by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,120 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Wave Life Sciences stock opened at $6.56 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -5.91 and a beta of -0.93. Wave Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $4.25 and a 52-week high of $16.74.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. Wave Life Sciences had a negative net margin of 66.50% and a negative return on equity of 280.57%. The company had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WVE shares. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.18.

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.