Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has an average broker rating of "Reduce" from eight analysts, with three sell ratings and five hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $22.00.
• Recent analyst actions were mostly negative: Jefferies kept a hold rating but cut its target to $22, while Zacks downgraded the stock to strong sell. Barclays and Piper Sandler also lowered price targets and maintained neutral/equal-weight views.
• Latest earnings missed expectations: Amphastar reported $0.42 EPS versus the $0.70 consensus estimate, with revenue of $171.17 million slightly below forecasts. Despite this, the company remains financially stable with a current ratio of 3.85 and 65.09% institutional ownership.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,027,947 shares of the company's stock worth $39,726,000 after acquiring an additional 228,262 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,963,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,571,000 after purchasing an additional 31,160 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,531,786 shares of the company's stock worth $41,021,000 after purchasing an additional 31,044 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,394,463 shares of the company's stock worth $37,344,000 after purchasing an additional 40,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 363,216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company's stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

AMPH opened at $19.86 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $19.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.19. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.65 and a 12-month high of $31.26. The firm has a market cap of $875.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.85, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $171.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.46 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 15.12% and a net margin of 11.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

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