Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,120,000 shares, a drop of 10.4% from the January 15th total of 4,600,000 shares. Currently, 11.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 545,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.3 %

AMPH opened at $31.02 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.43 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $30.95 and a one year high of $56.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMPH shares. StockNews.com downgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler cut shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 10,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $437,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,715.67. The trade was a 24.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 7,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total value of $310,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 118,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,262,392.98. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMPH. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 51,977.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,775 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $26,189,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,778,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,268,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,147,000. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

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.