Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts hold a “Reduce” consensus on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, with two sell ratings and six holds. The average 12-month price target is $22.50, below the reported share price of $23.18.
• Amphastar’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.91 per share versus the $0.62 consensus and revenue of $183.9 million versus $179.9 million expected.
• Insiders sold 19,340 shares worth approximately $421,000 over the past three months, while institutional investors own 65.09% of the company and recently increased their positions.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.50.

AMPH has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research raised Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard Prins sold 7,973 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $161,851.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,387.50. This represents a 21.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO William Peters sold 8,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total value of $183,886.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 172,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,885,578.08. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,340 shares of company stock valued at $421,047. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 2,477.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 729,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,722,000 after purchasing an additional 701,228 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $3,286,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,761,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $350,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company's stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of AMPH stock opened at $23.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $986.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $20.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.61. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.65 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.92 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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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