Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,120,000 shares, a decrease of 10.4% from the January 15th total of 4,600,000 shares. Approximately 11.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 545,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,333,715.67. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total transaction of $310,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,262,392.98. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 54,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.3 %

AMPH opened at $31.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $30.95 and a 1-year high of $56.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.24.

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.