Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Hits New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $31.00 and last traded at $28.0350, with a volume of 104,578 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.66.

The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $207.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.52 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 10.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total transaction of $239,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,050,719.82. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 7,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $161,851.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $601,387.50. The trade was a 21.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,299 shares of company stock worth $580,036 over the last quarter. Insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 473.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 10,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 8,294 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 13.3% during the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 383,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,908,000 after acquiring an additional 45,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $56,000. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.93.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets injectable, inhalation and intranasal products. The company focuses on technically challenging medicines, including complex generics, proprietary products and products based on its drug-delivery technologies.

Its product portfolio includes Primatene MIST, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler; Baqsimi, a nasal glucagon product used to treat severe hypoglycemia; and injectable medicines such as glucagon, naloxone, enoxaparin and hyaluronidase.