Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Shares Down 6.3% - Time to Sell?

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) traded down 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $10.56 and last traded at $10.62. 370,148 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 2,208,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AVXL. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Anavex Life Sciences from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. D. Boral Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Monday.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Down 9.3 %

The firm's 50 day moving average is $9.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.19. The stock has a market cap of $781.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.71 and a beta of 0.70.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03. On average, analysts anticipate that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,179 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 64,101 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 665,976 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,783,000 after buying an additional 14,892 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 483.8% during the second 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 6.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,557 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC bought a new position in Anavex Life Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,172,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.55% of the company's stock.

Anavex Life Sciences Company Profile

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.