Contrasting Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) & Genprex (NASDAQ:GNPX)

Genprex (NASDAQ:GNPX) and Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Genprex and Avadel Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Genprex	N/A	-409.48%	-269.17%
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	-52.53%	-93.34%	-44.77%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

14.1% of Genprex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.2% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 8.5% of Genprex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Genprex has a beta of -1.3, meaning that its stock price is 230% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avadel Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Genprex and Avadel Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Genprex	N/A	N/A	-$30.86 million	N/A	N/A
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	$27.96 million	27.47	-$160.28 million	($0.79)	-10.09

Genprex has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Avadel Pharmaceuticals.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Genprex and Avadel Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Genprex	0	0	1	0	3.00
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	0	0	7	0	3.00

Genprex currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,654.08%. Avadel Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 163.49%. Given Genprex’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Genprex is more favorable than Avadel Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

Avadel Pharmaceuticals beats Genprex on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Genprex

Genprex, Inc., a clinical-stage gene therapy company, focuses on developing gene-based therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is REQORSA (GPX-001), which is in preclinical trials to treat non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer; and GPX-002, which is in preclinical trials to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Its product pipeline comprises Acclaim-1, which is in phase 2a clinical trial for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer; Acclaim-2, which is in phase phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer; and Acclaim-3, which is in phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of small cell lung cancer. The company also develops ONC-001, REQORSA as a monotherapy, which is in phase 1 clinical trial to treat advance non-small cell lung cancer; and ONC-002, REQORSA with Tarceva, which is in phase 2 clinical trial to treat non-small cell lung cancer. Genprex, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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. Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.