Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $11.18, but opened at $11.52. Anavex Life Sciences shares last traded at $12.35, with a volume of 1,059,424 shares traded.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVXL has been the topic of several research reports. 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVXL. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the third quarter worth approximately $5,172,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $346,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 70.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 155,179 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 64,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,199 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,699,000 after acquiring an additional 51,946 shares during the period. 31.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Down 2.8 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $921.73 million, a P/E ratio of -21.74 and a beta of 0.73.

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.