Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) Short Interest Up 6.1% in December

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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. Approximately 12.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 424,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMPH opened at $37.13 on Thursday. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $36.48 and a fifty-two week high of $65.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Yakob Liawatidewi sold 5,214 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $271,388.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,900,522.90. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard K. Prins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.80, for a total transaction of $244,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,784.80. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,987,482 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMPH. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,614,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,752 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $339,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 920,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,674,000 after buying an additional 14,015 shares during the last quarter. 65.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.