Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) shares reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.75 and last traded at $16.9050, with a volume of 171747 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMPH. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.50.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 2.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $747.94 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.28). Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $171.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.46 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 553,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 452,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,872,000 after acquiring an additional 17,318 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 150,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 10,281 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,027,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,726,000 after purchasing an additional 228,262 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 122,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

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.