Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) by 401.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 168,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 134,937 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MannKind were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,107,598 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MannKind during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,252,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of MannKind by 60.7% in the third 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. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC increased its position in MannKind by 37.1% in the third quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 3,304,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,783,000 after purchasing an additional 894,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in MannKind by 421.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 471,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 381,298 shares in the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MannKind

In related news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the business’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 value of $403,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 967,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,099,181.94. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,536 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total value of $465,323.04. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,075 shares of company stock worth $1,325,587. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

MannKind Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MannKind stock opened at $6.48 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.17. MannKind Co. has a 52 week low of $3.17 and a 52 week high of $7.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 92.57 and a beta of 1.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Leerink Partners began coverage on MannKind in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on MannKind in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MannKind presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $9.07.

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.