MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Upgraded at Zacks Research

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MNKD has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MannKind from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of MannKind in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $3.50 target price (down from $7.50) on shares of MannKind in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MannKind has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.56.

MannKind Price Performance

NASDAQ MNKD opened at $2.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $849.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.57 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.82. MannKind has a 52-week low of $2.23 and a 52-week high of $6.51.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $111.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.85 million. MannKind had a negative return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 1.68%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MannKind will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Castagna purchased 100,000 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.59 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,575,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,671,609.49. This represents a 4.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MannKind

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 12.5% in the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 1.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 162,217 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 200,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 33,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MannKind Company Profile

MannKind Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products. The company’s core business revolves around its proprietary Technosphere® drug‐delivery platform, which is designed to enable rapid absorption of small‐molecule drugs through pulmonary administration. MannKind’s lead product, Afrezza®, is an inhaled insulin therapy intended for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, offering users a rapid‐acting alternative to traditional injectable insulins.

Afrezza received U.S.