Insider Selling: Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) CFO Sells 4,139 Shares

Key Points

• Amphastar CFO William Peters sold 4,139 shares at an average price of $25, generating $103,475 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. He retains 168,707 shares worth approximately $4.2 million.
• Amphastar shares recently traded at $24.96, up 2.6%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.91—well above the $0.62 analyst consensus—and revenue of $183.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with six Hold ratings and two Sell ratings producing a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $22.50, below the current share price.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) CFO William Peters sold 4,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $103,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,675. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of AMPH stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.96. 504,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,503. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.92. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.65 and a 12-month high of $29.52. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.92 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMPH shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, June 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $22.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMPH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 valued at $39,726,000 after purchasing an additional 228,262 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 553,900 shares of the company's stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 452,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,872,000 after buying an additional 17,318 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 41.1% during the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 375,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,587,000 after buying an additional 109,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company's stock.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets injectable, inhaled and intranasal products. The company focuses on complex and technically challenging medicines, including products for diabetes, emergency medicine, respiratory conditions and other specialty-care applications.

Its marketed products include glucagon for treating severe hypoglycemia, BAQSIMI nasal glucagon, Primatene MIST for temporary relief of mild intermittent asthma symptoms, naloxone products for opioid overdose emergencies, and enoxaparin sodium injection, an anticoagulant.

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