Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Increases Position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $AMPH

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates increased its Amphastar Pharmaceuticals position by 54.6% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 187,348 shares valued at approximately $3.67 million. Institutional investors collectively own 65.09% of the company.
• Amphastar reported first-quarter EPS of $0.42, missing analyst expectations of $0.70, while revenue of $171.17 million was slightly below forecasts. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.41.
• The stock opened at $18.72, near its 52-week low, while analyst sentiment remains cautious: six analysts rate it Hold and two rate it Sell, producing a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $22 target price.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Free Report) by 54.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,348 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 66,172 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals worth $3,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,504,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 76,765 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 72.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 235,485 shares of the company's stock worth $6,306,000 after buying an additional 99,227 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,963,052 shares of the company's stock worth $52,571,000 after buying an additional 31,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,666,000. 65.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMPH opened at $18.72 on Monday. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.65 and a 52 week high of $31.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $825.36 million, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $19.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.88.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $171.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.46 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 15.12% and a net margin of 11.00%. Equities analysts expect that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMPH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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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