Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. $AVXL

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,019,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 54,985 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.36% of Anavex Life Sciences worth $18,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,902,246 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,061,000 after acquiring an additional 221,802 shares during the period. Nwam LLC boosted its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,024,479 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,446,000 after purchasing an additional 24,128 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 482.1% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 546,626 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,690,000 after purchasing an additional 452,723 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,622,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 187,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 28,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.55% of the company’s stock.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AVXL opened at $3.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $340.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.06 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.82. Anavex Life Sciences Corp. has a 52-week low of $2.86 and a 52-week high of $14.44.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVXL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Anavex Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Friday. Jones Trading cut Anavex Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Anavex Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

About Anavex Life Sciences

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.