Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays raised Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’ price target from $20 to $23 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 7.1% upside from the cited share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: six analysts rate the stock “Hold” and two rate it “Sell,” resulting in a MarketBeat consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $22.50.
• Amphastar exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.91 in EPS versus the $0.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $183.9 million versus $179.9 million expected. Shares traded near $21.48, well below their 52-week high of $31.26.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $20.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.07% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $22.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AMPH stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.48. 224,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 528,777. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $16.65 and a 52 week high of $31.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $913.80 million, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $19.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.40.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.92 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 10.76%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William J. Peters sold 8,180 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total value of $183,886.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 172,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,885,578.08. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 7,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $161,851.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $601,387.50. The trade was a 21.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 82.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 53,638 shares of the company's stock worth $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 24,167 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,489 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 60,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 18,133 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,865,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,971 shares of the company's stock worth $8,885,000 after acquiring an additional 27,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.09% of the company's stock.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

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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