Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 134,937 Shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) by 401.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,937 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of MannKind worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MannKind during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in MannKind in the second quarter worth about $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in MannKind by 22.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MannKind during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MannKind in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $93,000. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MannKind Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MNKD opened at $6.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.71 and a beta of 1.30. MannKind Co. has a 12 month low of $3.17 and a 12 month high of $7.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Castagna sold 85,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total transaction of $536,167.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,294,836 shares in the company, valued at $14,457,466.80. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total value of $506,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,047,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,628,719.03. This represents a 7.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 317,700 shares of company stock valued at $2,089,358 over the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MNKD. Leerink Partnrs raised MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of MannKind in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.67.

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.