Zacks Research Upgrades Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) to “Hold”

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued 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, May 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $22.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $19.30 on Tuesday. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.65 and a 12-month high of $31.26. The stock has a market cap of $850.94 million, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.26 and its 200-day moving average is $21.99.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $171.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.46 million. Equities research analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,237,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,134,000 after buying an additional 363,216 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 382.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 392,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,455,000 after acquiring an additional 311,071 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 367.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 312,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,322,000 after acquiring an additional 245,440 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 worth $39,726,000 after acquiring an additional 228,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 267.0% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 312,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,324,000 after acquiring an additional 227,225 shares during the period. 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.