WVE Stock Surges More Than 180% in a Week: What Is Driving This Rally?

Shares of Wave Life Sciences WVE have soared 183% in the past week after the company reported encouraging interim data from an early-stage study evaluating its investigational weight-loss drug, WVE-007.

Data from this study (called INLIGHT) showed that three months after receiving a single 240-mg subcutaneous dose of the drug, patients achieved a mean reduction of 9.4% in visceral fat (or deep belly fat) as well as a 4.5% reduction in total body fat. In comparison, patients in the placebo group attained a 0.2% reduction in visceral fat and a 0.5% reduction in total body fat, neither of which was statistically significant.

While the results for visceral fat were statistically significant, the same could not be said for the total body fat. However, the drug made up for this in lean mass results. The reported data showed that treatment with WVE-007 helped patients achieve an increase of 3.2% in lean mass, which was statistically significant.

Wave Life Sciences is also evaluating two additional cohorts in the INLIGHT study — one evaluating a 400 mg dose of WVE-007 and another evaluating the 600 mg dose. It expects to report data on these cohorts, as well as further follow-up on the 240 mg dose group, throughout the first half of 2026.

What Makes WVE’s Results So Special?

Several investors expressed enthusiasm around this result, as WVE-007 addresses the ‘biggest disadvantage’ of using popular GLP-1 therapies like Eli Lilly’s LLY Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s NVO Wegovy — the loss of lean muscle mass. Wave Life Sciences also noted that the interim results support dosing once or twice a year — an added advantage over the LLY and NVO therapies, which require weekly administrations.

Investors also responded positively to the drug’s safety profile and the fact that the study participants were not required to undergo any diet or exercise for the duration of the study. Wave Life Sciences noted that the drug was well-tolerated in patients who received the 600 mg dose.

All the above factors collectively contributed to the recent spike in WVE’s shares. Year to date, the stock has surged nearly 64% compared with the industry’s 18% growth.

Stiff Competition in the Obesity Space

The obesity market has garnered much interest lately, as both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently dominate this space with their injectable GLP-1 drugs. According to research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the obesity market in the United States is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030. This is evident from the fact that LLY and NVO have not only optimized their production capacities but are also developing more potent and convenient GLP-1-based candidates in their clinical pipeline.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are racing to introduce oral weight-loss pills. NVO has already submitted a regulatory filing with the FDA seeking approval for an oral version of Wegovy, with a final decision expected before this year’s end. It is also developing several next-generation candidates in its obesity pipeline, including CagriSema (a combination of semaglutide and cagrilintide) and an oral pill, amycretin (a dual GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist).

LLY is investing broadly in obesity and has several new molecules currently in clinical development, with a range of oral and injectable medications using different mechanisms of action. This includes two late-stage candidates, orforglipron, a once-daily oral GLP-1 small molecule, and retatrutide, a GGG tri-agonist, along with some mid-stage candidates, bimagrumab, eloralintide and mazdutide. Eli Lilly plans to file regulatory applications for orforglipron in obesity before the end of 2025, setting up the timeline for a potential launch next year.

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. Price

 

WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. price | WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. Quote

WVE’s Zacks Rank

Wave Life Sciences currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Ranked (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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