Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,820,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the December 31st total of 4,370,000 shares. Currently, 13.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 476,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Yakob Liawatidewi sold 5,214 shares of the firm’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 $271,388.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,900,522.90. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $437,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,715.67. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,533 shares of company stock worth $1,987,482 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $417,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 207,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,722,000 after acquiring an additional 5,961 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 87,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $910,000. Finally, Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc bought a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AMPH traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.19. The stock had a trading volume of 196,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,587. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.97. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $33.15 and a 1 year high of $56.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.43 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.