Comparing BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) & Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL)

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) and Avadel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVDL) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avadel Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Avadel Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	$2.42 billion	5.19	$167.65 million	$1.67	39.44
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	$27.96 million	30.71	-$160.28 million	($0.79)	-11.28

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	11.71%	8.53%	6.40%
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	-52.53%	-93.34%	-44.77%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.7% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.2% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Avadel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Avadel Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	0	7	15	1	2.74
Avadel Pharmaceuticals	0	0	8	0	3.00

BioMarin Pharmaceutical presently has a consensus price target of $94.20, suggesting a potential upside of 43.03%. Avadel Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $19.88, suggesting a potential upside of 123.06%. Given Avadel Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Avadel Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than BioMarin Pharmaceutical.

Summary

BioMarin Pharmaceutical beats Avadel Pharmaceuticals on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. develops and commercializes therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions. Its commercial products include Vimizim, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IV type A, a lysosomal storage disorder; Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase for patients with MPS VI; and Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 that is used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disease. The company's commercial products also comprise Palynziq, a PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase enzyme, which is delivered through subcutaneous injection to reduce blood Phe concentrations; Brineura, a recombinant human tripeptidyl peptidase 1 for the treatment of patients with ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2, a form of Batten disease; Voxzogo, a once daily injection analog of c-type natriuretic peptide for the treatment of achondroplasia; and Aldurazyme, a purified protein designed to be identical to a naturally occurring form of the human enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase. In addition, it develops Roctavian, an adeno associated virus vector, for the treatment of patients with severe hemophilia A. The company serves specialty pharmacies, hospitals, and non-U.S. government agencies, as well as distributors and pharmaceutical wholesalers in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has license and collaboration agreements with Sarepta Therapeutics, Ares Trading S.A., Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in San Rafael, 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.