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

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $53.40, but opened at $47.94. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $48.65, with a volume of 156,806 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMPH shares. StockNews.com cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.63.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $182.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.29 million. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 23.36% and a return on equity of 29.79%. On average, analysts anticipate that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, CFO William J. Peters sold 7,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $386,523.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 94,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,898,061.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $193,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 118,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,724,059.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO William J. Peters sold 7,426 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $386,523.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at $4,898,061.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,741 shares of company stock valued at $1,727,262 over the last three months. 27.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,691,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,663,000 after buying an additional 680,976 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,078,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,154,000 after acquiring an additional 280,390 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 740,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,616,000 after purchasing an additional 121,764 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 738,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,550,000 after purchasing an additional 338,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $26,189,000. 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.