StockNews.com Upgrades Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on AMPH. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMPH opened at $49.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a current ratio of 3.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.82. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $36.56 and a 52 week high of $65.92.

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

Insider Activity at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, CFO William J. Peters sold 3,596 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,851,635.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 4,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $193,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,724,059.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,979 shares of company stock worth $1,671,307. Insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $55,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. 65.09% of the stock is 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.