MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $3.89, but opened at $4.06. MannKind shares last traded at $3.9950, with a volume of 1,925,140 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MNKD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MannKind in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho lowered their price target on MannKind from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $11.00 price target on MannKind and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on MannKind from $3.50 to $4.75 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MannKind has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.97.

MannKind Stock Up 5.7%

The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.21 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.89.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $90.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.38 million. MannKind had a negative return on equity of 11.21% and a negative net margin of 6.63%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MannKind Corporation will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MannKind

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 16,940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $55,732.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 808,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,658,346.32. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MannKind during the third quarter worth approximately $61,297,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of MannKind in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,956,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of MannKind by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,623,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $82,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883,071 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in MannKind by 146.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,194,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,896,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in MannKind by 316.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,467,721 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $18,622,000 after buying an additional 2,634,533 shares in the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).