SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP alerts investors of the February 29, 2016 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities fraud class action lawsuit filed against Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) in connection with the Company’s alleged use of stock promoters. Hagens Berman is also interested in talking to persons with material information relevant to the lawsuit.

If you suffered losses because of your purchases of Anavex securities between May 17, 2013 and December 28, 2015, or have information that would help in our continued investigation, contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation by calling 510-725-3000, emailing AVXL@hbsslaw.com or visiting https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/AVXL.  The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and investors have until February 29, 2016 to move the court to participate as a lead plaintiff.

Anavex is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing drugs to treat central nervous system diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, and various types of cancer. On December 29, 2015, before the market opened, Anavex disclosed that it had received a subpoena from the SEC on December 22, 2015.  The Company stated that it believed “the subpoena and investigation relate to the recent unusual activity in the market for the Company’s shares.”  When the SEC investigation was revealed, Anavex stock fell $0.72, or 10.24%, to close at $6.31 on December 29, 2015.

On December 30, 2015, pre-market, Seeking Alpha published a report entitled “Anavex: A Regulatory Target Damaged By Incriminating Evidence,” discussing the Company’s connection to a known stock promoter, the Primoris Group. On news of this report, Anavex stock fell $0.78, or 12.42%, to close at $5.50 on December 30, 2015. The stock is currently trading below $4.00 per share.

The complaint alleges that Anavex misled investors by failing to disclose that the Company used a paid stock promoter to artificially inflate its share price, which rendered its public statements false and misleading during the class period.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Anavex should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email AVXL@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman

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Reed Kathrein
510-725-3000