Variety is the spice of life. It's also a mantra for drugmaker Amphastar Pharmaceuticals. Amphastar makes a variety of drugs treating a variety of ailments available in injectable, nasal and inhalation form. It's been successful with this wide-net approach and its stock is among the best in its industry.
On Tuesday, the Relative Strength Rating for Amphastar stock jumped into a higher percentile, as it got a lift from 66 to 71. The upgraded 71 RS Rating shows that Amphastar tops 70% of all other stocks for price performance over the past year. Stocks that go on to make the biggest gains often have an 80 or higher RS Rating in the early stages of their moves. See if Amphastar can top that benchmark.
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical Amphastar's medicines include over-the-counter asthma inhaler Primatine Mist and Lidocaine pain reliever. Also Baqsimi, which it says on its website is the first dry nasal spray to treat low blood sugar, and dozens of other products.
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Amphastar Has Risen Steadily For A Decade
Just over 10 years ago Amphastar went public and its stock has been a "Steady Eddie," rising consistently over the past decade. It hit a fresh all-time high in August 2023 and then consolidated. It could be forming the right side of a long cup base that started in January this year. Tuesday afternoon Amphastar traded at 49.75, up about 1% for the day and up 36% from a 36.56 low set in early July.
While the small-cap stock is not near an ideal entry right now, see if it is able to form and break out of a proper chart pattern.
Amphastar has a 93 Composite Rating, putting it in the top 7% of stocks overall. And it sports a best-possible 99 EPS Rating that reflects its strong profit growth. Its B Accumulation/Distribution Rating shows that big funds are buying more of its shares than selling.
Double- And Triple-Digit Profit Growth
Amphastar reported earnings growth over the last four quarters of 203%, 21%, 68% and a 45% pop last quarter to 94 cents per share. During that time it reported revenue growth of 50%, 32%, 23% and 25% last quarter, to $182.4 million. Keep an eye out for the company's next round of numbers on or around Nov. 4.
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals earns the No. 13 rank among its peers in the 735-stock Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. ADMA Biologics, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals and United Therapeutics are among the top five highly rated stocks in the group.
IBD's proprietary Relative Strength Rating measures market leadership by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that indicates how a stock's price action over the trailing 52 weeks compares to the rest of the market.
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