Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 798,415 Shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL)

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL) by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,173,139 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 798,415 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 2.26% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals worth $22,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $350,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $160,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 9.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 33,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 2,780 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 107,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals by 56.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 2,846 shares during the last quarter. 69.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter J. Thornton purchased 10,000 shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.04 per share, for a total transaction of $80,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 104,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,602.20. This represents a 10.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Linda Palczuk purchased 5,000 shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.93 per share, with a total value of $39,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 67,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,447. This trade represents a 7.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVDL. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Avadel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avadel Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $19.88.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

Avadel Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $8.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $804.92 million, a PE ratio of -10.54 and a beta of 1.57. Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc has a twelve month low of $7.39 and a twelve month high of $19.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.36 and a 200-day moving average of $11.14.

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.