Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Investment analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AMPH. Bank of America upped their price target on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 1st. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $25.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.12. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $20.39 and a 1 year high of $45.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.91.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.10. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 15.43%.The firm had revenue of $191.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.90 million. Equities analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 4,179 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total transaction of $113,250.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,459.30. This trade represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 16,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $441,826.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 75,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,816.19. This represents a 18.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,858 shares of company stock valued at $581,313. 27.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 238.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 868,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,179,000 after purchasing an additional 611,995 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 382.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 392,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,455,000 after purchasing an additional 311,071 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $7,560,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 392,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,471,000 after buying an additional 268,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 367.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 312,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,322,000 after buying an additional 245,440 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.