Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.28 EPS

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.28, FiscalAI reports. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $207.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.52 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’ conference call:

• Amphastar reported record third-quarter revenue of $207.6 million, up 8% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.14 versus $0.93 a year earlier. BAQSIMI and Primatene MIST both posted record sales, while recently launched products also contributed.
• Mixed Sentiment: BAQSIMI sales rose 10% on higher volume, but pricing remained a headwind, including an estimated $2.2 million impact from rebates and 340B discounts. Management said efforts to reduce duplicate discounts are progressing, though it does not expect pricing to return to prior levels.
• Gross margin fell to 48% from 51%, pressured by lower prices on several products and higher manufacturing costs. IMS remediation added about $2 million to $3 million in quarterly expense, with management expecting somewhat higher costs over the next two or three quarters and continued effects on product releases.
• Management expects fourth-quarter sales to increase in the high single digits year over year, while noting a modest slowdown in IMS sales as remediation continues. Lidocaine demand is expected to remain strong, although production constraints and a growing IMS backlog may limit shipments.
• Amphastar remains on track for a potential 2027 insulin aspart biosimilar launch, but has no firm launch date and expects competition from existing products. The board also authorized an additional $50 million for share repurchases.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AMPH traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.55. 363,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 510,576. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.31. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $16.65 and a 12 month high of $31.00.

Insider Activity at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, CFO William J. Peters sold 4,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $103,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,675. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 7,973 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $161,851.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,625 shares in the company, valued at $601,387.50. This trade represents a 21.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,299 shares of company stock worth $580,036. Company insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMPH shares. Zacks Research raised Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

Key Amphastar Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amphastar Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amphastar reported third-quarter revenue of $207.6 million, above analyst expectations of $197.5 million. Adjusted earnings were $1.14 per share, beating the $0.86 consensus cited by MarketBeat, and up from $0.93 a year earlier. GAAP net income was $37.8 million, or $0.87 per share. The revenue and adjusted earnings beats are supportive of investor sentiment. Amphastar third-quarter financial results
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $25 from $20 but kept an “equal weight” rating. The new target is still about 12% below the cited share price, signaling limited upside in the firm’s view and potentially capping enthusiasm after the earnings news. Wells Fargo price-target update

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.