US Stock Market Move | Two major pharmaceutical companies competing for the acquisition of Avadel Pharmaceuticals (AVDL.US) caused its stock to rise over 20%.

On Friday, the stock price of American sleep medicine developer Avadel Pharmaceuticals (AVDL.US) rose, with the stock up over 20% to $23.215 as of press time. The company announced on Friday that Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck had submitted an unsolicited acquisition proposal, with a bid of up to $23 per share, significantly higher than the previous highest bid of $20 per share from Irish biotechnology company Alkermes (ALKS.US). Despite the strong market response, Avadel stated that the company's board has not yet determined that Lundbeck's proposal is superior to the existing Alkermes bid, nor has it changed its recommendation for the Alkermes acquisition.