Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Takes $20.55 Million Position in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,660,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,545,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.09% of Wave Life Sciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wave Life Sciences by 16.6% during the fourth 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. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 45,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares during the period. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Wave Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Wave Life Sciences by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 109,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the period. 89.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Paul Bolno sold 169,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 338,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,238,019.07. This trade represents a 33.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christian O. Henry sold 10,500 shares of the business’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. This represents a 39.45 % 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 Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WVE opened at $8.62 on Friday. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. has a 12-month low of $4.25 and a 12-month high of $16.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.77 and a beta of -1.04.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $83.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Wave Life Sciences Ltd. will post -1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WVE shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Wave Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Wave Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.60.

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.