Wells Fargo & Company Boosts MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Price Target to $8.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised MannKind's price target from $7.00 to $8.00 and maintained an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 196.85% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst consensus sits at a Moderate Buy with an average target of $8.69, based on seven Buy, two Hold and one Sell ratings, though several firms have recently cut targets or downgraded the stock.
• Insiders and trading snapshot: CEO Michael Castagna bought 100,000 shares at $2.59, while the stock traded around $2.70 with a market cap of about $832 million; MannKind reported revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS estimates.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $7.00 to $8.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 196.85% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MNKD. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $3.50 price target (down from $7.50) on shares of MannKind in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wedbush decreased their price target on MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of MannKind in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MannKind from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MannKind from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.69.

MannKind Price Performance

Shares of MannKind stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $2.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 461,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,292,331. The company has a market capitalization of $832.22 million, a PE ratio of 135.32 and a beta of 1.04. MannKind has a 12 month low of $2.23 and a 12 month high of $6.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.03 and a 200 day moving average of $4.68.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $111.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.85 million. MannKind had a negative return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 1.68%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that MannKind will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MannKind

In other MannKind news, CEO Michael Castagna bought 100,000 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $2.59 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,575,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,671,609.49. The trade was a 4.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of MannKind during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,297,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in MannKind during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,956,000. State Street Corp lifted 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 during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in MannKind by 146.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,194,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,896,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in MannKind by 316.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,467,721 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $18,622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,634,533 shares during the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MannKind Company Profile

MannKind Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products. The company's core business revolves around its proprietary Technosphere® drug‐delivery platform, which is designed to enable rapid absorption of small‐molecule drugs through pulmonary administration. MannKind's lead product, Afrezza®, is an inhaled insulin therapy intended for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, offering users a rapid‐acting alternative to traditional injectable insulins.

Afrezza received U.S.

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