Is Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMPH) Recent Stock Performance Influenced By Its Fundamentals In Any Way?
Most readers would already be aware that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:AMPH) stock increased significantly by 6.3% over the past month. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals' ROE.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
View our latest analysis for Amphastar Pharmaceuticals
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
ROE can be calculated by using the formula:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is:
1.7% = US$7.6m ÷ US$451m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.02.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
A Side By Side comparison of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals' Earnings Growth And 1.7% ROE
As you can see, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals' ROE looks pretty weak. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 17%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals grew its net income at a significant rate of 42% in the last five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
We then compared Amphastar Pharmaceuticals' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 17% in the same period.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Summary
In total, it does look like Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has some positive aspects to its business. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. To know the 2 risks we have identified for Amphastar Pharmaceuticals visit our risks dashboard for free.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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