Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $8.64, but opened at $9.75. Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $9.10, with a volume of 577,848 shares.

The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.02. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 93.34% and a negative net margin of 52.53%. The company had revenue of $52.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 93.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $19.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avadel Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 52,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT boosted its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 169,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,342,000 after buying an additional 2,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.19% of the company's stock.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $926.67 million, a PE ratio of -12.14 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.11 and a 200 day moving average of $9.45.

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.