MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

MNKD has been the subject of several other research reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of MannKind in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.67.

MannKind Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNKD opened at $6.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.71 and a beta of 1.30. MannKind has a 1 year low of $3.17 and a 1 year high of $7.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Castagna sold 85,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total transaction of $536,167.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,294,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,457,466.80. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steven B. Binder sold 5,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.94, for a total value of $30,026.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,075,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,385,654.44. The trade was a 0.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 317,700 shares of company stock valued at $2,089,358 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of MannKind by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,597,137 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $60,366,000 after buying an additional 40,338 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MannKind by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,338,928 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,880,000 after acquiring an additional 24,031 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in MannKind by 189.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,744,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107,598 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC increased its position in MannKind by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 3,304,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,783,000 after purchasing an additional 894,486 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of MannKind by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,648,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,600 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.