Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $8.05, but opened at $8.64. Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $8.49, with a volume of 204,004 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Peter J. Thornton bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.04 per share, for a total transaction of $80,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 104,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,602.20. This trade represents a 10.63 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVDL shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $786.31 million, a PE ratio of -10.33 and a beta of 1.31.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $50.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.43 million. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 93.34% and a negative net margin of 52.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 624.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.41) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avadel Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 26,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 489,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,414,000 after purchasing an additional 94,239 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 392,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,150,000 after purchasing an additional 123,430 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 136,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 142,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 16,215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.19% of the company’s stock.

About Avadel Pharmaceuticals

Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc operates as a biopharmaceutical company in the United States. Its lead product candidate is LUMRYZ, a formulation of sodium oxybate, which is in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness or cataplexy in adults with narcolepsy. The company was formerly known as Flamel Technologies SA and changed its name to Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc in January 2017.