Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Trading Up 8.7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Anavex Life Sciences shares rose by 8.7%, trading at approximately $9.92, with a significant increase in trading volume of 1,283,225 shares.
• Equities research analysts have a mixed outlook on Anavex, with two analysts rating it a "Buy" and one rating it a "Sell," while the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target price of $44.00.
• The company's last earnings report indicated a loss of ($0.16) per share, missing estimates, and analysts predict an EPS of -0.69 for the current year.

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) were up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.89 and last traded at $9.92. Approximately 1,283,225 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 1,114,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVXL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Anavex Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Saturday, September 27th. D. Boral Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.00.

Anavex Life Sciences Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $855.46 million, a PE ratio of -17.47 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.73 and a 200-day moving average of $9.33.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.03). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 482.1% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 546,626 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,690,000 after acquiring an additional 452,723 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 55.8% in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,902,246 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $42,061,000 after acquiring an additional 221,802 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $1,622,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 617.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 214,725 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 184,800 shares during the period. 31.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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