Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 83,739 Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $AMPH

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors increased its Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stake by 47.1% in the first quarter, acquiring 83,739 shares and bringing its holdings to 261,483 shares worth approximately $5.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 65.09% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Amphastar has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $22, with multiple firms recently lowering targets and maintaining Hold or Sell-equivalent ratings.
• Amphastar reported first-quarter EPS of $0.42, below the $0.70 consensus estimate, while revenue of $171.17 million also missed expectations. The stock recently opened at $20.22, near its 52-week low of $16.65 and well below its $31.26 high.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Free Report) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 261,483 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 83,739 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.59% of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals worth $5,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMPH. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 54.6% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 187,348 shares of the company's stock worth $3,670,000 after acquiring an additional 66,172 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 211,765 shares of the company's stock worth $5,671,000 after purchasing an additional 76,765 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,027,947 shares of the company's stock worth $39,726,000 after purchasing an additional 228,262 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 72.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 235,485 shares of the company's stock worth $6,306,000 after purchasing an additional 99,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,963,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,571,000 after purchasing an additional 31,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AMPH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AMPH opened at $20.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $891.41 million, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.89. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.65 and a 52-week high of $31.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 3.85. The business's fifty day moving average is $19.62 and its 200-day moving average is $21.44.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.28). Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 15.12%. The company had revenue of $171.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.46 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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