Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMPH opened at $49.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.13. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $36.56 and a 52-week high of $65.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a current ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.83.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.10. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 29.79% and a net margin of 23.36%. The firm had revenue of $182.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.29 million. Analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 17,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total value of $736,540.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,463,130.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO William J. Peters sold 10,282 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total transaction of $454,772.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,162,175.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 17,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total value of $736,540.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,463,130.97. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,383 shares of company stock worth $1,524,123. Corporate insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMPH. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 35.1% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 112,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,937,000 after buying an additional 29,182 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 64,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after buying an additional 24,678 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $426,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 333,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 397,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,901,000 after buying an additional 44,744 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a bio-pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells generic and proprietary injectable, inhalation, and intranasal products in the United States, China, and France. It offers BAQSIMI, a nasal spray for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; Primatene Mist, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhalation product for the temporary relief of mild symptoms of intermittent asthma; Enoxaparin, to prevent and treat deep vein thrombosis; REXTOVY and Naloxone for opioid overdose; Glucagon for injection emergency kit; and Cortrosyn, for use as a diagnostic agent in the screening of patients with adrenocortical insufficiency.