Knott David M Jr Grows Stock Holdings in Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. (NASDAQ:AVDL)

Key Points

• Knott David M Jr increased its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC by 22.8% in Q1, now holding 426,000 shares worth approximately $3.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have also modified their positions in Avadel, with overall institutional ownership at 69.19%.
• Research analysts have raised the stock's ratings, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Knott David M Jr grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. (NASDAQ:AVDL - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 426,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,096 shares during the period. Avadel Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.6% of Knott David M Jr's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Knott David M Jr owned approximately 0.44% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals worth $3,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVDL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Avadel Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Tri Locum Partners LP lifted its holdings in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Tri Locum Partners LP now owns 1,937,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,368,000 after acquiring an additional 277,029 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,448 shares of the company's stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 7,544 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,953,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,549,000 after purchasing an additional 90,147 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 658,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,922,000 after purchasing an additional 66,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:AVDL opened at $12.75 on Monday. Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. has a 12-month low of $6.38 and a 12-month high of $16.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $10.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -425.00 and a beta of 1.47.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $68.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.28 million. Avadel Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.73% and a negative net margin of 1.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 64.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.14) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. will post -0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVDL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC. (NASDAQ:AVDL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.