Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.16 and traded as high as $21.97. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $21.88, with a volume of 259,782 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a market capitalization of $936.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.79.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.92 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 14.98%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 7,973 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director directly owned 29,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,387.50. The trade was a 21.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO William J. Peters sold 8,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.48, for a total transaction of $183,886.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 172,846 shares in the company, valued at $3,885,578.08. The trade was a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 2,477.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 729,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,722,000 after purchasing an additional 701,228 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $3,286,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,761,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $350,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $340,000. 65.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.