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

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,120,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 20,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 17.3 days.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Down 3.4 %

AVXL stock opened at $4.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.07 million, a P/E ratio of -7.95 and a beta of 0.56. Anavex Life Sciences has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $10.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.18.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.04. As a group, equities analysts predict that Anavex Life Sciences will post -0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences from $54.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity at Anavex Life Sciences

In related news, CEO Christopher U. Missling sold 73,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total value of $374,971.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,250,210 shares in the company, valued at $6,388,573.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVXL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 41,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 8,141 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,770 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 36,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 13,623 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,017 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,906 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Anavex Life Sciences by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,325,784 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,561,000 after acquiring an additional 63,118 shares in the last quarter. 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.