Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares gapped down on Wednesday, opening at $14.52 compared to a previous close of $14.98.
• Analysts have upgraded Avadel Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating, with a consensus target price of $19.14 after a solid earnings report exceeding revenue expectations by over 13%.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Avadel Pharmaceuticals, with 69.19% of the stock currently owned by these entities.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. (NASDAQ:AVDL - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.98, but opened at $14.52. Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $14.54, with a volume of 136,357 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AVDL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avadel Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $19.14.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $11.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -486.03 and a beta of 1.58.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $68.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.28 million. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 1.32% and a negative return on equity of 3.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 64.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.14) EPS. Avadel Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avadel Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 13.0% in the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 13,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 52,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 164.5% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% in the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 17,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761 shares during the period. 69.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

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