MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MNKD. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MannKind in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial set a $9.00 price objective on MannKind in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MannKind in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MannKind currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.06.

MannKind Price Performance

Shares of MannKind stock opened at $5.64 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 56.40 and a beta of 0.81. MannKind has a 52-week low of $3.38 and a 52-week high of $6.51.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.02. MannKind had a net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 49.33%. The business had revenue of $82.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that MannKind will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other MannKind news, CEO Michael Castagna sold 65,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $395,482.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,504,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,053,799.92. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,006 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total value of $297,547.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 985,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,235,094.31. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 281,623 shares of company stock valued at $1,641,289 over the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MannKind

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in MannKind by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 55,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 9,160 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 3.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 210,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 6,079 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in MannKind by 8.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 670,872 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after buying an additional 53,202 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in MannKind by 4.4% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 399,033 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 16,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MannKind by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 200,450 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 24,693 shares during the period. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MannKind Company Profile

MannKind Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products. The company’s core business revolves around its proprietary Technosphere® drug‐delivery platform, which is designed to enable rapid absorption of small‐molecule drugs through pulmonary administration. MannKind’s lead product, Afrezza®, is an inhaled insulin therapy intended for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, offering users a rapid‐acting alternative to traditional injectable insulins.

Afrezza received U.S.