LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 482.1% during the first quarter, owning a total of 546,626 shares valued at approximately $4.69 million.
• Other institutional investors also raised their holdings in Anavex Life Sciences, with notable increases from Invesco Ltd. at 2,419.8% and Envestnet Asset Management Inc. at 54.2% in the previous quarter.
• Anavex Life Sciences' recent earnings report showed a loss of ($0.16) EPS, which missed analysts' expectations of ($0.13) EPS for the quarter.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Free Report) by 482.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 546,626 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 452,723 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.64% of Anavex Life Sciences worth $4,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVXL. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 115,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 7,360 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,066 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 20,771 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 2,419.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 615,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,606,000 after buying an additional 590,639 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $167,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $562,000. 31.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, D. Boral Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of AVXL stock opened at $10.56 on Thursday. 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 $902.04 million, a PE ratio of -18.53 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.21.

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

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