Insider Selling: Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) CFO Sells 12,631 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• CFO William Peters sold 12,631 shares for about $366,173 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his stake by 7.03%; he retained 167,076 shares.
• Amphastar beat quarterly estimates, reporting earnings of $1.14 per share and revenue of $207.6 million, versus analyst expectations of $0.86 per share and $197.5 million in revenue.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Reduce,” with a $23.33 price target, below the article’s cited share price of $28.49.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) CFO William Peters sold 12,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $366,172.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 167,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,843,533.24. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AMPH traded up $0.83 on Friday, hitting $28.49. 826,253 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,892. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.22 and a 200-day moving average of $22.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.93. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.65 and a 12-month high of $31.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.28. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $207.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.52 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMPH shares. Wall Street Zen cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $33,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 473.9% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 10,044 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 8,294 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,867 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 13.3% in the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 383,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,908,000 after acquiring an additional 45,193 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $56,000. 65.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Amphastar Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amphastar reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of $1.14 per share, ahead of analyst estimates of $0.78–$0.86 and up from $0.93 a year earlier. Revenue of $207.6 million also topped estimates of $197.52 million. The earnings and revenue beats are the clearest positive catalysts in the recent news. Company earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: GAAP net income was $37.8 million, or $0.87 per share; adjusted non-GAAP net income was $49.3 million, or $1.14 per share. The results suggest solid quarterly profitability alongside the sales growth. Quarterly results
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $20 to $25 but kept an “equal weight” rating. The new target remains about 12.2% below the cited current price, which may temper enthusiasm despite the improved target. Wells Fargo price target update

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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