Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Upgraded to Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Needham & Company LLC, with a target price of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.58% from its current price.
• In contrast, other brokerages like Piper Sandler and Wells Fargo have lowered their price targets for Amphastar, reflecting a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• The stock has seen significant movement recently, with a 14.9% increase, and various institutional investors have notably increased their holdings in the company.

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has $36.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on AMPH. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AMPH stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.83. The company had a trading volume of 651,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,370. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.03. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.29. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $20.39 and a twelve month high of $53.96.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 125,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,878,000 after buying an additional 6,478 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 263.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $397,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 38.4% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 53,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 14,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 802.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 71,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,646,000 after buying an additional 63,744 shares in the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.