New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Anavex Life Sciences were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 7,298 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC raised its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 73,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 67,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 25,500 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 351.6% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,498 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 7,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,663 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the period. 31.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, May 10th.

Anavex Life Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ AVXL opened at $4.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.83. The company has a market capitalization of $380.88 million, a P/E ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 0.66. Anavex Life Sciences Corp. has a 1-year low of $3.25 and a 1-year high of $10.45.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.13). During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Anavex Life Sciences

In related news, CEO Christopher U. Missling sold 73,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $374,971.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,250,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,388,573.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.00% of the company’s stock.

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.