Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Stock Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.25 and traded as low as $4.15. Anavex Life Sciences shares last traded at $4.36, with a volume of 1,013,057 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AVXL. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Anavex Life Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Up 4.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $404.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.48 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.47.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Anavex Life Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,383,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,605,000 after buying an additional 1,096,288 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 17,921.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 744,469 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 740,338 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 872,968 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 569,579 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 903,392 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,216,000 after acquiring an additional 459,121 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $1,310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.55% of the company’s stock.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company applies a proprietary drug discovery platform that targets sigma‐1 and muscarinic receptors to modulate cellular stress pathways and support neuronal function. Headquartered in New York City, Anavex is dedicated to advancing treatments for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases with high unmet medical need.

The company’s lead product candidate, blarcamesine (ANAVEX2‐73), is a small‐molecule activator of the sigma‐1 receptor currently being evaluated in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease dementia.