Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Stock Rating Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals to “Strong-Buy” from “Buy,” although broader analyst sentiment remains cautious: MarketBeat reports an average “Reduce” rating and a $23.33 average price target.
• Amphastar beat quarterly estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $1.14 versus estimates of $0.86 and revenue of $207.6 million versus $197.52 million.
• Shares opened at $28.49, while Wells Fargo’s raised $25 target remained below that price; company insiders also sold 53,930 shares worth about $1.39 million over the prior three months.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

AMPH has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research raised Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.33.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AMPH stock opened at $28.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.93. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $16.65 and a one year high of $31.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $25.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.32.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.28. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $207.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.52 million. As a group, analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total transaction of $239,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,203 shares in the company, valued at $4,050,719.82. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO William Peters sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $448,480.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,857.21. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 53,930 shares of company stock valued at $1,394,688 over the last three months. 29.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $142,000. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Amphastar Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amphastar Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amphastar reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of $1.14 per share, ahead of analyst estimates of $0.78–$0.86 and up from $0.93 a year earlier. Revenue of $207.6 million also topped estimates of $197.52 million. The earnings and revenue beats are the clearest positive catalysts in the recent news. Company earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: GAAP net income was $37.8 million, or $0.87 per share; adjusted non-GAAP net income was $49.3 million, or $1.14 per share. The results suggest solid quarterly profitability alongside the sales growth. Quarterly results
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $20 to $25 but kept an “equal weight” rating. The new target remains about 12.2% below the cited current price, which may temper enthusiasm despite the improved target. Wells Fargo price target update

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets injectable, inhalation and intranasal products. The company focuses on technically challenging medicines, including complex generics, proprietary products and products based on its drug-delivery technologies.

Its product portfolio includes Primatene MIST, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler; Baqsimi, a nasal glucagon product used to treat severe hypoglycemia; and injectable medicines such as glucagon, naloxone, enoxaparin and hyaluronidase.

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