Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Short Interest Up 10.3% in December

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMPH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amphastar Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Rong Zhou sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total transaction of $310,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 118,469 shares in the company, valued at $5,262,392.98. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yakob Liawatidewi sold 5,214 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $271,388.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,900,522.90. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,987,482. 27.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $26,189,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 738,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,550,000 after purchasing an additional 338,653 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,078,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,154,000 after purchasing an additional 280,390 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $9,085,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $10,804,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1 %

AMPH stock opened at $35.70 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.15 and its 200 day moving average is $44.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.82. 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 has a 1-year low of $34.60 and a 1-year high of $56.88.

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.