Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,820,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 4,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 476,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.1 days. Approximately 13.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $437,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,715.67. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total value of $310,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 118,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,262,392.98. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,987,482 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 18.2% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMPH has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AMPH stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.70. The company had a trading volume of 410,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,908. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.08. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $34.60 and a one year high of $56.88.

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.