MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded MannKind from “sell” to “hold”, adding to a mixed but generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock’s consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $8.97.
• MannKind shares were down 3.4% and opened at $3.40. The company has a market cap of about $1.05 billion and a 52-week range of $2.23 to $6.51.
• In its latest quarterly results, MannKind missed earnings and revenue estimates, reporting -$0.05 EPS versus an expected -$0.02 and revenue of $90.17 million versus $105.38 million expected. Revenue still rose 15.1% year over year, and CEO Michael Castagna recently bought 100,000 shares.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $11.00 price objective on MannKind and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on MannKind from $3.50 to $4.75 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on MannKind from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded MannKind from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded MannKind from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.97.

MannKind Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of MannKind stock opened at $3.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -48.56 and a beta of 1.13. MannKind has a 52 week low of $2.23 and a 52 week high of $6.51. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $2.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.29.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $90.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.38 million. MannKind had a negative net margin of 6.63% and a negative return on equity of 11.21%. MannKind's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MannKind will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Castagna purchased 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.59 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,575,911 shares in the company, valued at $6,671,609.49. This trade represents a 4.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven B. Binder sold 16,940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total value of $55,732.60. Following the sale, the director owned 808,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,658,346.32. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in MannKind by 43.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,383,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,290,000 after buying an additional 1,021,456 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in MannKind in the first quarter valued at $128,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings 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 valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 124,097 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of MannKind by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 216,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 9,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of MannKind in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,875,000. 49.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. 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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