Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL) has a Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) of -36.37% and a Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) of 12.52%, indicating challenges in generating returns that exceed its cost of capital.
Compared to its competitors, Avadel has a better ROIC to WACC ratio than Eyenovia and Clearside Biomedical, but is outperformed by Aquestive Therapeutics and Intra-Cellular Therapies in terms of capital efficiency.
Intra-Cellular Therapies leads the group with the highest ROIC to WACC ratio, suggesting it is closest to achieving positive returns relative to its cost of capital.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:AVDL) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative medicines. The company primarily targets sleep disorders, with its lead product, LUMRYZ, aimed at treating narcolepsy. Avadel operates in a competitive landscape alongside companies like Eyenovia, Aquestive Therapeutics, Clearside Biomedical, and Intra-Cellular Therapies, each with their own focus areas and product pipelines.

In evaluating Avadel’s financial performance, the Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) and Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) are key metrics. Avadel’s ROIC stands at -36.37%, while its WACC is 12.52%. This results in a ROIC to WACC ratio of -2.90, indicating that the company is not currently generating returns that exceed its cost of capital. This is a critical measure of how effectively Avadel is using its capital.

Comparatively, Eyenovia has a significantly lower ROIC of -205.42% and a WACC of 11.01%, leading to a ROIC to WACC ratio of -18.65. This suggests Eyenovia is less efficient in capital utilization than Avadel. Meanwhile, Aquestive Therapeutics has a ROIC of -37.16% and a WACC of 17.92%, resulting in a slightly better ROIC to WACC ratio of -2.07 compared to Avadel.

Clearside Biomedical’s ROIC is -81.71% with a WACC of 17.50%, yielding a ROIC to WACC ratio of -4.67. This places Clearside below Avadel in terms of capital efficiency. Intra-Cellular Therapies, however, has the highest ROIC to WACC ratio among the peers at -1.38, with a ROIC of -10.08% and a WACC of 7.29%. This indicates that Intra-Cellular Therapies is closer to achieving positive returns relative to its cost of capital, despite still being negative.