Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) Shares Purchased by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,712,449 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 853,589 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wave Life Sciences were worth $83,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WVE. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wave Life Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.17.

Wave Life Sciences Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WVE opened at $6.52 on Thursday. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a 52 week low of $4.25 and a 52 week high of $16.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.87 and a beta of -0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.30.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.34. Wave Life Sciences had a negative return on equity of 280.57% and a negative net margin of 66.50%. The firm had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. Equities research analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,238,019.07. This represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $157,443.55. This trade represents a 39.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wave Life Sciences 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.