Ahead Of Upcoming Data On Three Programs, Analysts Remain On Sidelines For Wave Life Sciences

RBC Capital writes that Wave Life Sciences Ltd's WVE Q1 earnings are largely incremental.
The company reiterated that they had extended the observation period in the SAD part of the C9-study (30 mg dose has yet to plateau) and continued optimizing dose levels and frequency.
A data update is expected in 2022 and first looks at Huntington's disease (HD) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
At a negative EV and three upcoming clinical catalysts, RBC sees potential upside, but difficult to have strong conviction given two initial clinical setbacks, indications historically challenging to tackle (particularly HD and ALS), and ~12 months of cash.
RBC reiterated its price target at $8 with a Sector Perform rating.
Mizuho said that the Q1 call focused primarily on FOCUS-C9 (WVE-004 phase 1/2) and upcoming data expectations for WVE's WVE-003 and WVE-N531 clinical programs.
The analyst says Poly(GP) biomarker data for WVE-004 Phase 1/2 trial may be formally presented at ENCALS. This year, any additional data is likely to be biomarkers rather than functional measures.
Management expects that seeing any possible functional data may take 6-12 months.
Mizuho has a price target of $13 with a Buy rating on the stock.
Price Action: WVE shares are down 5.04% at $1.23 during the market session on the last check Friday.

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