Short Interest in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Increases By 6.1%

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,370,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the November 30th total of 4,120,000 shares. Currently, 12.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 424,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMPH has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard K. Prins sold 10,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 30,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,715.67. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yakob Liawatidewi sold 5,214 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $271,388.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,900,522.90. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,533 shares of company stock worth $1,987,482 over the last quarter. 27.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 11,300 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 9,770 shares of the company's stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 90,587 shares of the company's stock worth $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the second quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 353,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.09% of the company's stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AMPH stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 568,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,015. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.50 and a 200-day moving average of $44.38. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.78. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $36.48 and a 52 week high of $65.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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.