Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AMPH shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $26.86 and last changing hands at $26.76, compared with a 50-day average of $23.27.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: six analysts rate the stock Hold and two rate it Sell, producing an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $22.50.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.91 in EPS versus the $0.62 consensus and revenue of $183.9 million versus estimates of $179.9 million; however, insiders sold 33,479 shares worth about $763,922 over the past 90 days.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.27 and traded as high as $26.86. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $26.76, with a volume of 362,817 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMPH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.08. 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 company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.90.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.92 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, CFO William Peters sold 8,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total value of $183,886.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 172,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,885,578.08. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,050,719.82. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,479 shares of company stock worth $763,922. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMPH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,027,947 shares of the company's stock worth $39,726,000 after acquiring an additional 228,262 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 553,900 shares of the company's stock worth $10,851,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 452,898 shares of the company's stock worth $8,872,000 after acquiring an additional 17,318 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 41.1% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 375,965 shares of the company's stock worth $7,587,000 after acquiring an additional 109,500 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 47.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 261,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,122,000 after acquiring an additional 83,739 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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