MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of MannKind from $3.50 to $4.75 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MannKind from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of 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 note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on MannKind from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.97.

MannKind Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MNKD opened at $4.25 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.61 and its 200 day moving average is $4.03. MannKind has a 12-month low of $2.23 and a 12-month high of $6.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.71 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 16,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $55,732.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 808,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,658,346.32. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MannKind

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prodigy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MannKind in the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in MannKind by 43.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,383,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,456 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new stake in MannKind during the first quarter worth $128,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in MannKind by 48.5% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 379,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 124,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in MannKind by 4.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 216,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 9,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

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).