Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Anavex Life Sciences Put Options (NASDAQ:AVXL)

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 10,341 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 210% compared to the average volume of 3,331 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVXL has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Jones Trading downgraded Anavex Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Anavex Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Anavex Life Sciences has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

Institutional Trading of Anavex Life Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Anavex Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Anavex Life Sciences in the third quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 470.0% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 4,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 4,023 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,535 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at $93,000. 31.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Anavex Life Sciences Stock Down 8.8%

AVXL traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $6.65. 1,356,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,139,637. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.86 and its 200 day moving average is $9.30. Anavex Life Sciences has a 12 month low of $6.62 and a 12 month high of $14.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $571.25 million, a PE ratio of -11.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.03). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Anavex Life Sciences will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

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.