Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Given “Hold” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AMPH. StockNews.com lowered Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. They set an overweight rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $66.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMPH opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.43. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $67.66.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.03). Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 26.95%. The firm had revenue of $178.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total transaction of $26,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 80,333 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,682.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael A. Zasloff sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.18, for a total value of $589,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,160.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.10, for a total value of $26,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 80,333 shares in the company, valued at $4,265,682.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,000 shares of company stock worth $660,860 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 821.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.