Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Anavex Life Sciences worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Anavex Life Sciences by 17.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 280,556 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 40,895 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 119,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Anavex Life Sciences by 483.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 466,437 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after buying an additional 386,537 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Anavex Life Sciences during the second quarter worth about $166,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Anavex Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $191,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Anavex Life Sciences from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th.

Anavex Life Sciences Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ AVXL opened at $10.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $910.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.48 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.61 and a 200 day moving average of $6.59. Anavex Life Sciences Corp. has a twelve month low of $3.25 and a twelve month high of $14.44.

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.03. Equities analysts predict that Anavex Life Sciences Corp. will post -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Anavex Life Sciences 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.