Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Tuesday. D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Jones Trading downgraded Anavex Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Anavex Life Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ AVXL opened at $3.93 on Friday. Anavex Life Sciences has a one year low of $2.86 and a one year high of $13.99. The firm has a market cap of $364.19 million, a P/E ratio of -8.54 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.26 and its 200-day moving average is $6.87.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. Equities analysts anticipate that Anavex Life Sciences will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Key Headlines Impacting Anavex Life Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Anavex Life Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reiterated its “Buy” rating and raised near‑term and FY2026 EPS forecasts, signaling improved analyst confidence and a $20 target that could support upside. HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL)
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised Q2–Q4 and FY2026 EPS estimates (e.g., Q4 from -$0.14 to -$0.11; FY from -$0.46 to -$0.33), suggesting expected operational or clinical progress that could improve future profitability. What is HC Wainwright’s Estimate for AVXL Q1 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded AVXL to a Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about the company’s earnings outlook and potentially attracting buy‑side interest. Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) Upgraded to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Anavex’s latest quarterly report beat EPS expectations (reported -$0.06 vs. consensus -$0.10), a near‑term fundamental positive that can support price momentum. MarketBeat AVXL profile
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports show a spike in short‑interest figures that are recorded as 0 shares and NaN changes — data appears erroneous or incomplete, so it’s unclear whether short covering or new shorts are influencing trading. (No reliable source link available.)
• Negative Sentiment: Despite upgrades, consensus still forecasts negative FY2026 EPS (-$0.69 before HC Wainwright adjustments), and the stock sits below both the 50‑day (~$4.27) and 200‑day (~$6.92) moving averages, indicating technical resistance and lingering macro/sector risk. MarketBeat AVXL profile

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.