Shares of Wave Life Sciences plunged 58% on Thursday after a higher dose of its experimental obesity drug failed to show clear improvement in reducing a dangerous type of belly fat.

The Cambridge-based company’s market value will fall by about $1.35 billion, if the losses continue.

In an early-stage trial, patients who received a single high-dose 400-milligram injection of Wave’s drug, WVE-007, lost about 5% of visceral fat — the dangerous fat that builds up around internal organs — after three months.

But this did not show a clear improvement in visceral fat loss of 14% after six months for those receiving the 240 mg dose.

“Investors are likely disappointed by the 400 mg data at 3 months, which looks similar to 240 mg on visceral fat and not as good on total fat and lean mass,” a LeeLink Partners analyst said in a note.

“The wave delivered half of what we were hoping to see for WVE-007,” said Cantor analyst Steve Seedhouse.

Wave executives said the poor-looking results reflect who is enrolled, and not the drug’s limitations.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Wright told investors on a conference call that the 400-mg group started with “significantly healthier” body composition, including about 30% less visceral fat than at baseline.

CEO Paul Bolno said the company expects “significantly larger effects” when it moves to heavier patients in its next mid-phase study, which will enroll people with a BMI of 35 to 50.

Mid-phase studies including high BMI patients with multiple doses will be needed before the obesity thesis can be properly evaluated, b. said Madison Al-Saadi, an analyst at Riley Securities.

In the reported study, patients on the 240-mg dose lost an average of about 0.9% of their body weight compared to placebo after six months of follow-up.