Arizona State Retirement System Buys Shares of 24,297 Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL)

Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 24,297 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVXL. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,704,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 197.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 248,139 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 164,792 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Anavex Life Sciences in the first quarter valued at about $194,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $1,674,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 503.5% during the fourth quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 78,490 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 65,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AVXL shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, April 7th. D. Boral Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, April 7th.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVXL traded down $0.61 on Friday, reaching $12.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,260,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,675. Anavex Life Sciences Corp. has a 52-week low of $4.93 and a 52-week high of $14.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -22.05 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.13.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.03. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Anavex Life Sciences Company Profile

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.