Comparing Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) & Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX)

Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) and Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ventyx Biosciences	N/A	-62.58%	-57.42%
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-198.06%	-84.51%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ventyx Biosciences and Avadel Pharmaceuticals’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ventyx Biosciences	N/A	N/A	-$192.96 million	($3.30)	-1.35
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	$27.96 million	56.13	-$160.28 million	($2.04)	-8.50

Avadel Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Ventyx Biosciences. Avadel Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ventyx Biosciences, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Ventyx Biosciences has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avadel Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ventyx Biosciences and Avadel Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ventyx Biosciences	0	4	5	0	2.56
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	0	0	7	0	3.00

Ventyx Biosciences currently has a consensus target price of $21.75, indicating a potential upside of 386.58%. Avadel Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $22.57, indicating a potential upside of 30.24%. Given Ventyx Biosciences’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ventyx Biosciences is more favorable than Avadel Pharmaceuticals.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.9% of Ventyx Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.2% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 24.4% of Ventyx Biosciences shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

About Ventyx Biosciences

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops small molecule product candidates to address a range of inflammatory diseases. The company's lead clinical product candidate is VTX958, a selective allosteric tyrosine kinase type 2 inhibitor for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn's disease. It is also developing VTX002, a sphingosine 1 phosphate receptor modulator that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and VTX2735, a peripheral-targeted NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome inhibitor to treat patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome. In addition, the company develops VTX3232, a CNS-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor. Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is based in San Diego, California.

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.