Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AMPH has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AMPH opened at $19.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 3.85. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $16.65 and a 52 week high of $31.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $861.08 million, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.90 and its 200 day moving average is $22.96.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $171.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.46 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 15.12% and a net margin of 11.00%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,237,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,134,000 after acquiring an additional 363,216 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 382.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 392,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,455,000 after acquiring an additional 311,071 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,560,000. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 216.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 392,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,471,000 after acquiring an additional 268,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 367.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 312,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,322,000 after purchasing an additional 245,440 shares during the period. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.