Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,120,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 20,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 17.3 days.

Anavex Life Sciences Price Performance

Anavex Life Sciences stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $4.23. 1,085,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,430,565. Anavex Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $4.16 and a 52-week high of $10.45. The company has a market capitalization of $347.34 million, a P/E ratio of -7.83 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.16.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.04. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Anavex Life Sciences will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Anavex Life Sciences

In other Anavex Life Sciences news, CEO Christopher U. Missling sold 73,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $374,971.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,250,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,388,573.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,577,256 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $68,656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,222 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 309.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 833,524 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,718,000 after acquiring an additional 630,156 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,582,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,765,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,938,968 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,284,000 after acquiring an additional 201,318 shares during the last quarter. 31.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Anavex Life Sciences from $54.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd.

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.