Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Shares Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH)’s stock price was down 5.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $41.86 and last traded at $42.08. Approximately 514,340 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 400,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMPH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.33.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.43. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $437,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,715.67. This represents a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yakob Liawatidewi sold 5,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $271,388.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,900,522.90. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,533 shares of company stock worth $1,676,542. 27.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMPH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 22.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,584,000 after purchasing an additional 35,306 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 114,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 16,574 shares during the period. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

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.