Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Shares Up 8.1% - Here's Why

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) shot up 8.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $8.30 and last traded at $8.26. 993,620 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 1,169,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVXL shares. EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I upgraded shares of Anavex Life Sciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Monday.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Up 20.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $783.55 million, a P/E ratio of -16.58 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.15.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.14) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Anavex Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,414,682 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,471,000 after acquiring an additional 54,034 shares during the period. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 836,730 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,259,000 after buying an additional 38,437 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 675.0% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 804,642 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,096,000 after buying an additional 700,812 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 483.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 466,437 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 386,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 280,556 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 40,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.55% of the company's stock.

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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