Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,820,000 shares, a growth of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 19,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.8 days.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Up 13.1 %

NASDAQ:AVXL opened at $12.15 on Friday. Anavex Life Sciences has a 12-month low of $3.25 and a 12-month high of $14.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.30 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $8.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.63.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Anavex Life Sciences will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVXL. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Anavex Life Sciences from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. D. Boral Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 666.7% in the third quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $76,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,074 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 64.0% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 6,366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.