First Trust Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 777,327 MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 777,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $4,998,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.28% of MannKind at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in MannKind by 3,294.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares during the last quarter. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC bought a new position in shares of MannKind in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MannKind in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MannKind in the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MannKind in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MannKind Stock Performance

NASDAQ MNKD traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,861,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,381,384. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 69.29 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $4.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.86. MannKind Co. has a fifty-two week low of $4.17 and a fifty-two week high of $7.63.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03. MannKind had a net margin of 8.07% and a negative return on equity of 17.74%. The firm had revenue of $76.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.99 million. Equities analysts expect that MannKind Co. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MNKD. Mizuho began coverage on shares of MannKind in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of MannKind from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of MannKind in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $9.56.

MannKind Company 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.