What Happened?
Shares of pharmaceutical company Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQAMPH) fell 5.3% in the afternoon session after a Bank of America analyst lowered the firm's price target on the shares and reports highlighted significant challenges in the company's product portfolio. The analyst trimmed the price target to $30 from $31 while keeping a Neutral rating.
Adding to the pressure, the company faced headwinds for its iron sucrose and glucagon products, with sales expected to be much lower than previously thought due to increased competition. For instance, iron sucrose sales were forecasted at around $5 million per quarter, and glucagon sales were anticipated to trend down.
Consequently, the company's growth outlook was moderated from double-digit expectations to a range of high-single to low-double digits. This news followed a nearly 4% drop in the stock during the previous trading session, suggesting continued investor concern.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Amphastar Pharmaceuticals? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 13 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 5.8% on the news that the company announced it had entered into an exclusive license agreement with Nanjing Hanxin Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd. for a new drug compound.
The deal was for the development and commercialization of AMP-110, a fully synthetic human hormone analog, in the United States and Canada. This compound was designed to treat inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, with the potential for an improved safety profile compared to existing products. The agreement involved an upfront payment of $2 million from Amphastar, with potential future payments of up to $14 million for development milestones and $75 million for sales milestones.
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is down 1.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $26.15 per share, it is trading 29.5% below its 52-week high of $37.12 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,399.
Do you want to know what moves the business you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock significantly moves, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It’s free and will only take you a second.