Virtu Financial LLC Takes $258,000 Position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences during the third quarter valued at about $194,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 844,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,926,000 after buying an additional 571,345 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 168,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 28,351 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 174.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,540,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,630,000 after acquiring an additional 979,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Wave Life Sciences by 477.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 34,588 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wave Life Sciences news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.57, for a total value 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. The trade was a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.77, for a total transaction of $102,585.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,443.55. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WVE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wave Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Wave Life Sciences Price Performance

Shares of WVE stock opened at $8.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.73 and a 200-day moving average of $11.64. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a one year low of $4.25 and a one year high of $16.74. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.77 and a beta of -1.04.

Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.60 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Wave Life Sciences

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.