MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.88.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MNKD. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of MannKind in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on MannKind in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.76, for a total transaction of $456,563.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,075,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,267,175.76. This represents a 5.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total transaction of $403,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 967,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,099,181.94. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,587 in the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in MannKind by 14.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 915,248 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after purchasing an additional 115,390 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in MannKind by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 68,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 3,861 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of MannKind by 5.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 397,194 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 19,675 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MannKind during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in MannKind in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,524,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

MannKind Price Performance

Shares of MNKD stock opened at $6.52 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $6.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.12. MannKind has a 1-year low of $3.17 and a 1-year high of $7.63. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.14 and a beta of 1.28.

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.