Maxim: Nothing 'Nefarious' At Anavex Life Sciences

The investigation of Anavex Life Sciences Corp

on whether its officers and/or directors have violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is seen as nothing "nefarious" by Maxim Group. The company's stock dropped $1.27, or more than 18 percent following the recent news, to $5.76 in Tuesday's pre-market trading session on December 29, 2015. "Attracting attention today is news of an SEC subpoena which we believe relates to unusual activity in the market for the company's shares. We do not believe it involves any wrongdoing by the company or management. As such we do not see anything nefarious here," Maxim Group commented in their equity research note released on Tuesday. Maxim Group had reaffirmed its BUY rating for AVXL on Tuesday. Anavex also recently announced that the company is moving forward with the development program for ANAVEX 2-73. FDA guidance confirms its strategy to move ANAVEX 2-73 (Alzheimer's) to a larger randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled P 2/3 study. New data from Maxim Group's research note had indicated statistically significant improvements on exploratory clinical endpoints. Anavex had presented data in the past at the International Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) 2015 Conference in Barcelona, Spain. On December 29, 2015, the company announced that it had received the subpoena from the SEC on December 22, 2015. Anavex experienced "unusual" market activity for the company's stock after the subpoena received from the SEC on December 22. The stock fell 20 percent after investors identified a note that suggested the SEC had brought the company a subpoena three days before Christmas. According to Anavex Life Sciences, the Company believes the subpoena and investigation relate to the recent unusual activity in the market for the Company's shares.