Short Interest in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Rises By 5.3%

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,350,000 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the September 15th total of 4,130,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 364,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.9 days. Currently, 12.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of AMPH stock opened at $49.31 on Wednesday. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $36.56 and a twelve month high of $65.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.10. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 29.79% and a net margin of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $182.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.29 million. On average, analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 17,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total transaction of $736,540.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,130.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 17,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total transaction of $736,540.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,463,130.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.47, for a total value of $139,410.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,504,256.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,383 shares of company stock valued at $1,524,123 in the last quarter. 27.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,815,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,145,000 after buying an additional 48,203 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $410,000. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 34,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 8,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMPH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

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.