HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) by 300.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 143,393 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107,560 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MannKind were worth $903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MNKD. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in MannKind by 22.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MannKind by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 42,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 101,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of MannKind by 6.0% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 68,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MannKind by 8.5% in the third quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 61,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 4,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MannKind

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $465,323.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,075,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,406,929.14. This trade represents a 5.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total transaction of $403,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 967,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,099,181.94. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,075 shares of company stock worth $1,325,587 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNKD has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 7th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of MannKind in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.67.

MannKind Trading Down 5.4 %

NASDAQ MNKD opened at $5.93 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.71 and a beta of 1.28. MannKind Co. has a 52 week low of $3.17 and a 52 week high of $7.63.

MannKind Profile

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.