Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Amphastar shares broke above their 50-day moving average, reaching $26.61 and last trading at $25.94 versus the $23.97 average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: seven analysts rate the stock Hold and one rates it Sell, producing an average “Reduce” rating and a $22.50 price target.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.91 in EPS versus the $0.62 consensus and revenue of $183.9 million versus $179.92 million; however, insiders sold 33,479 shares worth about $763,922 over the past 90 days.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.97 and traded as high as $26.61. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $25.94, with a volume of 360,167 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AMPH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $22.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.90. 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's 50-day moving average is $23.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.36.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.92 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO William J. Peters sold 4,139 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $103,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,217,675. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total transaction of $239,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,050,719.82. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 33,479 shares of company stock worth $763,922 in the last ninety days. 29.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,689,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,580,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 66,172 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 178.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 50,450 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,761,000. 65.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets injectable, inhaled and intranasal products. The company focuses on technically challenging medicines, including generic and proprietary products used in emergency care, respiratory treatment, diabetes management and other therapeutic areas.

Its marketed products include Primatene MIST, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler for temporary relief of mild, intermittent asthma symptoms; BAQSIMI, a ready-to-use nasal glucagon product for severe hypoglycemia; glucagon injection; Amphadase, a hyaluronidase product; and enoxaparin, an anticoagulant.

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