Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on AMPH. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.85. The stock had a trading volume of 365,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,695. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.93. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $36.56 and a fifty-two week high of $65.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $171.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.13 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 22.88% and a return on equity of 29.17%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William J. Peters sold 3,596 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.93, for a total transaction of $147,184.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,851,635.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, CFO William J. Peters sold 10,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total transaction of $454,772.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at $4,162,175.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO William J. Peters sold 3,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.93, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,378 shares of company stock valued at $747,482. 27.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.