Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Shares Up 4.6%

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) rose 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.14 and last traded at $43.84. Approximately 54,293 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 433,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.50. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $178.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.90 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 22.88%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael A. Zasloff sold 12,500 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.18, for a total transaction of $589,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,160.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,000 shares of company stock worth $655,145. Insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $137,000. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 58.4% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 6,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 2,252 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 35.1% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 112,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,937,000 after acquiring an additional 29,182 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 798,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,060,000 after acquiring an additional 205,932 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 382.2% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. 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.