Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,579 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,120 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Wave Life Sciences were worth $193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 171.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 100,498 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wave Life Sciences by 14.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,269,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,615,000 after acquiring an additional 283,419 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Wave Life Sciences by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,321,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,034,000 after acquiring an additional 57,822 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 398,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,929,000 after acquiring an additional 95,413 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Wave Life Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,000. 89.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WVE. HC Wainwright reaffirmed 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 shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total value of $102,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,443.55. This represents a 39.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of Wave Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

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

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

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.