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

Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following insider buying activity. 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 trading hands.

Specifically, Director Peter J. Thornton acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.04 per share, for a total transaction of $80,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 104,055 shares in the company, valued at $836,602.20. The trade was a 10.63 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $817.15 million, a PE ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.40.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 93.34% and a negative net margin of 52.53%. The business had revenue of $50.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 624.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avadel Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 489,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,414,000 after purchasing an additional 94,239 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 392,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,150,000 after buying an additional 123,430 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 142,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 16,215 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $642,000. 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.