Key Points
- Director Ken Takanashi sold 3,864 WAVE Life Sciences shares for $23,222.64, reducing his direct holdings by 16.14% to 20,079 shares. The sale was made to cover tax withholding related to vested equity awards.
- WVE shares opened at $5.20, near their one-year low of $5.01 and well below the one-year high of $21.73. The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting a $0.34 per-share loss and $2.27 million in revenue versus analysts’ $7.45 million estimate.
- Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $22.53, despite recent target reductions. Institutional investors own approximately 89.73% of the company’s stock.
WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) Director Ken Takanashi sold 3,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $23,222.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $120,674.79. This trade represents a 16.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
WAVE Life Sciences Price Performance
Shares of WVE opened at $5.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of -4.77 and a beta of -1.26. WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. has a 1-year low of $5.01 and a 1-year high of $21.73.
WAVE Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 50.36% and a negative net margin of 309.73%.The company had revenue of $2.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its stake in WAVE Life Sciences by 6,729.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 645.2% during 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. boosted its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 1,441.6% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 9,284 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of WAVE Life Sciences by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 3,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WAVE Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.73% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently commented on WVE. Citigroup lowered their price target on WAVE Life Sciences from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on WAVE Life Sciences from $31.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of WAVE Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research set a $13.00 target price on WAVE Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on WAVE Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WAVE Life Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.53.
Check Out Our Latest Report on WVE
About WAVE Life Sciences
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].