Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Trading Down 4.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Anavex Life Sciences' share price decreased by 4.8% to $9.77, significantly lower than its previous close of $10.26, with trading volume down 73% from average levels.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with two analysts rating it as a Buy while a recent downgrade has set a more pessimistic outlook.
• In recent institutional activity, several firms increased their stakes in Anavex Life Sciences, reflecting a continued interest in the biotechnology company despite the share price decline.

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.81 and last traded at $9.77. Approximately 296,303 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,107,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVXL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Anavex Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 23rd. D. Boral Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Anavex Life Sciences has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $44.00.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Down 12.3%

The company has a market cap of $773.27 million, a PE ratio of -15.82 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $10.56 and its 200 day moving average is $9.30.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.03). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PVG Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 111,445 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 28,837 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 215.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,850 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 85,990 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 22,130 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.55% of the company's stock.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is ANAVEX 2-73 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, as well as other central nervous system diseases, including rare diseases, such as Rett syndrome, a rare severe neurological monogenic disorder; and infantile spasms, Fragile X syndrome, and Angelman syndrome.

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