Jefferies analyst David Steinberg reiterated a Buy rating and boosted his price target on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMPH) to $18.00 (from $15.00) following a narrower Q4 loss.

Steinberg commented, "AMPH Q4 EPS of -$0.03 was +0.03 ahead of our est, with higher op expenses more than offset by one-time items. Rev of $56M exceeded our $54M est, but gross margin was 730bp below our forecast – due to additional startup costs associated with AMPH’s France subsidiary (AFP) that is supplying insulin API to MNKD. Despite further expected enoxaparin erosion, we see recent price increases bolstering the base in FY15, with M&A possibly providing upside to our ests."

The firm lowered FY 2015 EPS from $(0.37) to $(0.64).

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals click here. For more ratings news on Amphastar Pharmaceuticals click here.

Shares of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals closed at $15.33 yesterday.