Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Short Interest Up 10.3% in December

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,820,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 4,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 476,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.1 days. Approximately 13.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Yakob Liawatidewi sold 5,214 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $271,388.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,900,522.90. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $437,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,715.67. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,987,482 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $426,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 397,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,901,000 after buying an additional 44,744 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 35.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,078,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,154,000 after buying an additional 280,390 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,355,000 after buying an additional 7,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $9,085,000. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AMPH stock opened at $35.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.43 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $34.60 and a one year high of $56.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.82.

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.