AveXis Inc. (AVXS), a clinical-stage gene therapy company yesterday reported top line results from its phase 1 trial of AVXS-101 in spinal muscular atrophy SMA type 1. AveXis also reported their fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results. AveXis reported a fourth quarter loss of $25.4 million. AveXis reported fourth quarter earnings of a loss of $0.92 per share which fell short of analyst expectations of a loss of $0.77 per share.    

AveXis Inc. CEO’s Comments

“The completion of our Phase 1 clinical study of AVXS-101, the first ever gene therapy studied for the treatment of SMA Type 1, is an exciting and eagerly awaited milestone, and we are quite pleased with these data,” said Sean Nolan, President and Chief Executive Officer of AveXis. “The past few months have been productive for AveXis, and we look forward to continuing the momentum with several upcoming corporate catalysts, including the planned Type B CMC meeting with the FDA, as well as ongoing collaborative discussions with regulatory authorities in the United States and Europe to explore the most expeditious pathways for marketing approval of AVXS-101.”  Globe Newswire

AVXS Technical Analysis

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AVXS opened trading yesterday at $74.46 which was down from the previous day’s trading close of $74.88. Shares closed trading yesterday at $72.78 and spiked up after market to $81.50, equivalent to a 12% increase from the closing price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see that we are in un-chartered territory as with the spike up, AVXS is now trading at all time highs.

Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that before the spike up AVXS had already been in an overall upward trend dating back to January 3rd when it traded at $47.26. AVXS has a float of 15.97 million shares and traded 1.31 times the normal daily trading volume on Thursday.

For trading purposes, I would like to see AVXS open trading on Friday above $78.50 and if it does I would be looking to take a long position at the bell. My stop loss would be $0.50 from my entry position fearing anything more than that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.