Anavex Life Sciences Corp. $AVXL Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. by 23.6%, selling 126,882 shares and now owns approximately $3.5 million worth of stock.
• Other institutional investors, such as LPL Financial LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., increased their stakes significantly, with LPL Financial growing its position by 482.1%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Anavex, with two maintaining a buy rating, while Wall Street Zen recently downgraded the stock from hold to sell.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Free Report) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 411,659 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 126,882 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Anavex Life Sciences worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,902,246 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,061,000 after purchasing an additional 221,802 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 184,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,411,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 197.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 248,139 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 164,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of 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 set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $44.00.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AVXL traded up $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $8.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,306,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,018,466. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $10.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.35. Anavex Life Sciences Corp. has a one year low of $5.03 and a one year high of $14.44. The company has a market capitalization of $750.68 million, a P/E ratio of -15.33 and a beta of 0.83.

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

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.