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

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,150,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the May 31st total of 3,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 341,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.1 days. Currently, 11.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AMPH shares. StockNews.com upgraded Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, CFO William J. Peters sold 3,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.93, for a total transaction of $147,184.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,851,635.79. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total transaction of $124,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,246,132.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO William J. Peters sold 3,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.93, for a total transaction of $147,184.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,851,635.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,596 shares of company stock valued at $313,544 in the last three months. Company insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ AMPH opened at $38.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.42. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $37.30 and a 1 year high of $67.66.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.20. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 22.88%. The business had revenue of $171.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.13 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.