MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• MannKind Corporation's short interest decreased by 23.9% in August, falling to 15,890,000 shares, indicating reduced bearish sentiment among traders.
• The company's stock performance showed an increase, trading at $5.45 with a market capitalization of $1.67 billion.
• MannKind has received mixed analyst ratings, with one downgrade to "hold" and several price target increases, ranging from $8.00 to $15.00, reflecting optimistic projections amidst a consensus "buy" rating.

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 15,890,000 shares, a drop of 23.9% from the August 15th total of 20,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 5.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Approximately 5.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

MannKind Price Performance

NASDAQ MNKD traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.43. 4,724,588 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,834,809. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.43. MannKind has a 52-week low of $3.38 and a 52-week high of $7.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 49.37 and a beta of 1.02.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $76.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.82 million. MannKind had a net margin of 10.87% and a negative return on equity of 32.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that MannKind will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MannKind news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.34, for a total value of $250,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,032,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,510,949.42. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven B. Binder sold 75,367 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.94, for a total transaction of $296,945.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 830,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,272,201.52. This represents a 8.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MannKind

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of MannKind in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MannKind by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MannKind by 1,379.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,396 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 6,896 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MannKind in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in MannKind during the 1st quarter worth $56,000. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MNKD. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MannKind from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on MannKind from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on MannKind from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MannKind from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of MannKind in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $11.17.

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.