Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Anavex Life Sciences currently has an average analyst recommendation of "Hold" from five brokerages, with three buy ratings, one hold, and one sell rating. The average 12-month price target is $21.33.
• The stock was up 2.1% and opened at $2.39, well below its 52-week high of $13.99. It also trades below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Institutional investors have been increasing their stakes, including notable additions by State Street, Goldman Sachs, and Invesco. Institutions now own about 31.55% of the company.

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.3333.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Anavex Life Sciences from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Rodman & Renshaw started coverage on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of AVXL stock opened at $2.39 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.68 and a 200 day moving average of $3.54. Anavex Life Sciences has a 52 week low of $2.26 and a 52 week high of $13.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.20 and a beta of 1.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,383,406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,288 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,036,954 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,229,000 after buying an additional 63,685 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 903,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,216,000 after acquiring an additional 459,121 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 187.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 872,968 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 569,579 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 863,959 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,966,000 after acquiring an additional 309,605 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.55% of the company's stock.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company applies a proprietary drug discovery platform that targets sigma‐1 and muscarinic receptors to modulate cellular stress pathways and support neuronal function. Headquartered in New York City, Anavex is dedicated to advancing treatments for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases with high unmet medical need.

The company's lead product candidate, blarcamesine (ANAVEX2‐73), is a small‐molecule activator of the sigma‐1 receptor currently being evaluated in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia.

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