Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Trading Down 2.4% - Should You Sell?

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 2.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $37.20 and last traded at $37.56. Approximately 112,097 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 572,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMPH shares. StockNews.com cut Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.33.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.61 and a 200-day moving average of $44.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 7,000 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total value of $310,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 118,469 shares in the company, valued at $5,262,392.98. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO William J. Peters sold 7,426 shares of the business'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 $386,523.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,898,061.15. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,533 shares of company stock worth $1,987,482. Corporate insiders own 27.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 27,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 279,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,386,000 after purchasing an additional 12,851 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,614,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,240 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC raised its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 14,390 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares in the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.