Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Stock Price Down 7.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.4% to $21.23 on Tuesday, with 377,633 shares traded—about 21% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Analysts have cut targets and ratings recently (Needham/Wells Fargo to $30, Jefferies to $22, Barclays to $23) and Weiss downgraded to a sell, leaving a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $27.43 average price target (2 Buy, 6 Hold, 1 Sell).
• The company missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.73 vs. $0.97 expected; revenue $183.11M vs. $190.48M), and trades with a market cap of about $949M, P/E of 10.45, strong liquidity (current ratio 4.02) and ~65% institutional ownership.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 7.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $21.30 and last traded at $21.2280. 377,633 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 476,095 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.43.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $22.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.77. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $948.76 million, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.92.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.24). Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 17.58% and a net margin of 13.63%.The company had revenue of $183.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 356.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 944 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 219.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company's stock.

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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