Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Hits New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $37.46 and last traded at $37.97, with a volume of 101995 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.00.

Specifically, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 3,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total value of $124,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,409 shares in the company, valued at $3,246,132.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO William J. Peters sold 3,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.93, for a total transaction of $147,184.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at $3,851,635.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total value of $124,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,246,132.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,596 shares of company stock worth $313,544. 27.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.80.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.20. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 22.88% and a return on equity of 29.17%. The company had revenue of $171.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.13 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.