Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $19.54 and last traded at $20.44, with a volume of 726331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMPH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 4.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.64. The stock has a market cap of $877.46 million, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $183.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.48 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 17.58%. On average, research analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 9,787 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $256,419.40. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 2,426 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 71,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,858.56. This represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,950 shares of company stock valued at $363,925 over the last ninety days. 27.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 90,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,403,000 after buying an additional 41,800 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $931,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,018,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $3,447,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 188.8% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 60,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 39,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

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.