Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $12.91, but opened at $16.48. Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $15.03, with a volume of 2,090,891 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVDL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.57.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.00 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.28.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.03. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 122.64% and a negative net margin of 111.64%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.70) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2666.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVDL. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the third quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 99,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its position in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 167,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 64.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 7,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 379.2% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 49,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 38,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.