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

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 trading hands.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVXL has been the topic of several analyst reports. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences in the second quarter worth $57,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 40,895 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 15.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 119,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 483.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 466,437 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after buying an additional 386,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.55% of the company’s stock.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Up 10.9 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.80 and a 200-day moving average of $6.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.80 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.