Brokerages Set Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Target Price at $22.00

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMPH. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William J. Peters sold 8,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total value of $183,886.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 172,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,885,578.08. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 7,973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $161,851.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,387.50. The trade was a 21.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMPH. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,587,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,237,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,134,000 after buying an additional 363,216 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 382.9% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 392,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,455,000 after purchasing an additional 311,071 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 367.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 312,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,322,000 after buying an additional 245,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $4,689,000. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $20.86 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.65 and a 1 year high of $31.26. The company has a market capitalization of $887.38 million, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.89.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.92 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 14.98%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Founded in 2004, Amphastar focuses on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of injectable and inhalation products. The company’s manufacturing facilities in California produce both generic and proprietary formulations designed to address urgent and chronic medical conditions.

Amphastar’s portfolio includes a range of injectable generics such as epinephrine, naloxone and lidocaine, serving hospital, emergency medical and retail pharmacy channels.