Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Anavex Life Sciences shares rose 14.5%, trading as high as $3.68 and closing near $3.56, above the 50-day moving average of $2.81. The stock’s 200-day moving average is $3.25.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: three analysts rate AVXL a Buy, one rates it Hold, and one rates it Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $21.33, while Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage with a $20 target and Buy rating.
• Institutional ownership stands at 31.55%, with major investors including State Street, Goldman Sachs and Invesco increasing their positions. Anavex recently reported quarterly EPS of -$0.06, beating the consensus estimate of -$0.07.

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.81 and traded as high as $3.68. Anavex Life Sciences shares last traded at $3.56, with a volume of 2,474,377 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AVXL. Rodman & Renshaw started coverage on Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Anavex Life Sciences from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.33.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Up 14.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $330.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $2.81 and its 200 day moving average is $3.25.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. On average, analysts expect that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,383,406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $15,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,288 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 6.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,036,954 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,229,000 after purchasing an additional 63,685 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 903,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 459,121 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 872,968 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 569,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 55.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 863,959 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,966,000 after purchasing an additional 309,605 shares during the period. 31.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company applies a proprietary drug discovery platform that targets sigma‐1 and muscarinic receptors to modulate cellular stress pathways and support neuronal function. Headquartered in New York City, Anavex is dedicated to advancing treatments for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases with high unmet medical need.

The company's lead product candidate, blarcamesine (ANAVEX2‐73), is a small‐molecule activator of the sigma‐1 receptor currently being evaluated in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia.

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