MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Shares Climb 6.3% – Here’s Why

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) shares shot up 6.3% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $3.42 and last traded at $3.5510. Approximately 658,726 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,199,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MNKD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of MannKind from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MannKind in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of MannKind in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Wall Street Zen cut MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.34.

MannKind Stock Up 11.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.86 and a 200 day moving average of $3.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.66 and a beta of 1.10.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01). MannKind had a negative net margin of 11.08% and a negative return on equity of 11.21%. The company had revenue of $109.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $108.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that MannKind Corporation will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MannKind

In related news, Director Steven Binder sold 39,051 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.06, for a total value of $158,547.06. Following the transaction, the director owned 785,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,190,620.02. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,660 shares of company stock valued at $414,881. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MannKind during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MannKind during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MannKind in the first quarter worth $43,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MannKind in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 2,013.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 10,550 shares during the period. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MannKind

MannKind Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products for endocrine and orphan lung diseases in the United States. It offers Afrezza, an inhaled insulin used to improve glycemic control in adults with diabetes, and the V-Go wearable insulin delivery device, which provides continuous subcutaneous infusion of insulin in adults. The company's product pipeline also includes Tyvaso DPI (Treprostinil), an inhalation powder for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease; MNKD-101, a nebulized formulation of clofazimine, for the treatment of severe chronic and recurrent pulmonary infections, including nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease; MNKD-201, a dry-powder formulation of nintedanib, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).