Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

AMPH stock opened at $23.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.43. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $16.65 and a 12 month high of $29.52. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.92.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $183.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.92 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 10.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 7,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $161,851.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,387.50. This represents a 21.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 3,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $75,308.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,203 shares in the company, valued at $3,998,266.89. This trade represents a 1.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,340 shares of company stock valued at $421,047. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 410.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 263.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

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.