MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded MannKind from “hold” to “sell,” contrasting with the broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.22.
• MannKind shares opened at $4.11, up 5.7%, but the company’s latest results missed expectations, reporting a $0.05 per-share loss versus the expected $0.02 loss and revenue of $90.17 million versus estimates of $105.38 million.
• Institutional investors own 49.55% of MannKind, with Vanguard and State Street among the major holders increasing their positions; an insider’s stock sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on MannKind from $3.50 to $4.75 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of MannKind in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MannKind from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of MannKind from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.22.

MannKind Stock Up 5.7%

Shares of MannKind stock opened at $4.11 on Friday. MannKind has a 12 month low of $2.23 and a 12 month high of $6.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -31.62 and a beta of 1.12.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.03). MannKind had a negative net margin of 11.08% and a negative return on equity of 11.21%. The company had revenue of $90.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MannKind will post -0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 16,940 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $55,732.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 808,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,658,346.32. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MannKind by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,880,873 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $101,385,000 after acquiring an additional 250,290 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in MannKind by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,623,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $82,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883,071 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of MannKind in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,297,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of MannKind by 146.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,194,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,896,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088,820 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MannKind by 11.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,953,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 509,692 shares in the last quarter. 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).

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