Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Saturday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $30.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $19.83 and last traded at $20.23, with a volume of 1965411 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.49.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Floyd F. Petersen sold 2,426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $62,881.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 71,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,849,858.56. This represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rong Zhou sold 9,787 shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $256,419.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,616,726.60. The trade was a 6.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,950 shares of company stock valued at $363,925. Company insiders own 27.50% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Amphastar Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management expects mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth for 2026 and is launching a new respiratory product, which provides a clear growth runway beyond the quarter that disappointed investors. Amphastar outlines mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth for 2026 while launching new respiratory product
• Positive Sentiment: Two sell-side shops lowered price targets from $34 to $30 but retained constructive ratings (Wells Fargo: overweight; Needham: buy), signaling that analysts still see significant upside from current levels despite trimming near-term assumptions. Analyst price target coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published its Q4 press release, slide deck and conference call materials for investors to review detailed results and management commentary. These materials may clarify margin drivers and product cadence. Press release / slide deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media write-ups (Zacks, Seeking Alpha, Investing.com) provide deeper metric-level analysis comparing results to estimates — useful for modeling but not new catalyst by itself. Zacks comparison of key metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed consensus: adjusted EPS of $0.73 vs. ~$0.97 expected and revenue of $183.1M vs. ~$190.5M, prompting investor concern about near-term growth and profit leverage. MarketBeat earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction has been amplified by heavy trading and coverage noting the miss; short-interest reports in public feeds are noisy/unclear but the immediate selloff reflects disappointment with the quarter. Yahoo finance: earnings miss and market reaction

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 356.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 219.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals by 3,430.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.09% of the company’s stock.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $929.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.99.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.24). Amphastar Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 17.74% and a net margin of 13.63%.The company had revenue of $183.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.48 million. Equities research analysts predict that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Founded in 2004, Amphastar focuses on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of injectable and inhalation products. The company’s manufacturing facilities in California produce both generic and proprietary formulations designed to address urgent and chronic medical conditions.

Amphastar’s portfolio includes a range of injectable generics such as epinephrine, naloxone and lidocaine, serving hospital, emergency medical and retail pharmacy channels.