Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Shares Gap Up to $7.66

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $7.66, but opened at $7.98. Anavex Life Sciences shares last traded at $8.26, with a volume of 588,520 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.54. The stock has a market cap of $631.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.44 and a beta of 0.68.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03. Equities analysts expect that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher U. Missling sold 268,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.98, for a total transaction of $2,138,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,125,315.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 45.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,577,256 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,222 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $7,718,000 after buying an additional 630,156 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,698,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Anavex Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,582,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 556.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 314,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 266,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.79% of the company’s stock.

Anavex Life Sciences Company Profile

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of drug candidates for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Its lead drug candidate is ANAVEX 2-73, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; Phase III clinical trial to treat pediatric patients with Rett syndrome; Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of Parkinson's disease; and preclinical clinical trials to treat epilepsy, infantile spasms, Fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and tuberous sclerosis complex.