StockNews.com Downgrades Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AMPH. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMPH opened at $48.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.60. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $36.56 and a 1-year high of $65.92.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.10. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 23.36% and a return on equity of 29.79%. The company had revenue of $182.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.29 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 4,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $193,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 118,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,724,059.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 17,101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total transaction of $736,540.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,463,130.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total transaction of $193,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,724,059.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,671,307 in the last three months. Company insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a bio-pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells generic and proprietary injectable, inhalation, and intranasal products in the United States, China, and France. It offers BAQSIMI, a nasal spray for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; Primatene Mist, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhalation product for the temporary relief of mild symptoms of intermittent asthma; Enoxaparin, to prevent and treat deep vein thrombosis; REXTOVY and Naloxone for opioid overdose; Glucagon for injection emergency kit; and Cortrosyn, for use as a diagnostic agent in the screening of patients with adrenocortical insufficiency.