Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Reduce”: Eight analysts cover Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, with one sell rating and seven hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $22.50, below the reported share price of $25.14.
• Recent operating results exceeded expectations: Amphastar reported quarterly EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.62 consensus estimate, while revenue of $183.9 million also topped forecasts.
• Insiders have been net sellers, while institutions hold a majority stake: Insiders sold 33,479 shares worth about $763,922 during the last quarter, whereas institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.09% of the company.

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMPH. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Richard Prins sold 7,973 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total value of $161,851.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,625 shares of the company's stock, 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 the SEC website. Also, CFO William Peters sold 4,139 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $103,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,217,675. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $763,922. Insiders own 29.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 12,849 shares of the company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 183.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $609,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 178.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 50,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.09% of the company's stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $25.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.30 and a 200-day moving average of $21.46. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.65 and a 1 year high of $29.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.92 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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