Norges Bank Invests $1.24 Million in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Wave Life Sciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WVE. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $123,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

Shares of WVE opened at $5.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $867.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.09 and a beta of -0.93. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a 1 year low of $4.25 and a 1 year high of $16.74. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.66.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This represents a 33.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,115 shares in the company, valued at $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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WVE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, 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 price objective for the company. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.