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

Shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $10.00, but opened at $10.81. Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $10.93, with a volume of 140,617 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Geoffrey Michael Glass purchased 20,279 shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.84 per share, with a total value of $199,545.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,895.36. The trade was a 36.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gregory J. Divis bought 9,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.98 per share, with a total value of $95,788.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,788.04. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other Avadel Pharmaceuticals news, Director Linda Palczuk bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.19 per share, for a total transaction of $30,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 66,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,616. The trade was a 4.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AVDL shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Avadel Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.43.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.84 and a beta of 1.32.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $50.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.43 million. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 52.53% and a negative return on equity of 93.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 624.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.41) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avadel Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Braidwell LP increased its position in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,388,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,446,000 after buying an additional 490,300 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 42.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,623,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,290,000 after purchasing an additional 483,787 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,483,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,894,000 after purchasing an additional 21,214 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 602,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,473,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% during 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 in the last quarter. 69.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.