Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.00.

AMPH has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AMPH stock opened at $28.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.88. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $20.39 and a one year high of $32.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 2,426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $62,881.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 71,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,849,858.56. This represents a 3.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 9,787 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $256,419.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,616,726.60. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,129 shares of company stock valued at $477,176. 27.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,237,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,134,000 after acquiring an additional 363,216 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 382.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 392,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,455,000 after purchasing an additional 311,071 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,560,000. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 392,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 268,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 367.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 312,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,322,000 after purchasing an additional 245,440 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Founded in 2004, Amphastar focuses on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of injectable and inhalation products. The company’s manufacturing facilities in California produce both generic and proprietary formulations designed to address urgent and chronic medical conditions.

Amphastar’s portfolio includes a range of injectable generics such as epinephrine, naloxone and lidocaine, serving hospital, emergency medical and retail pharmacy channels.