MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Trading Down 3.6% on Insider Selling

Shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) dropped 3.6% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $4.36 and last traded at $4.40. Approximately 668,905 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,984,174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.56.

Specifically, Director Steven B. Binder sold 80,144 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.69, for a total value of $375,875.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,006,611 shares in the company, valued at $4,721,005.59. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Thomson sold 32,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.68, for a total transaction of $150,597.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 772,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,614,958.36. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MNKD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of MannKind in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of MannKind in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MannKind presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $10.00.

MannKind Stock Down 4.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.43 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.76.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. MannKind had a net margin of 8.07% and a negative return on equity of 17.74%. The company had revenue of $78.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.86 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that MannKind Co. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MannKind

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of MannKind by 186.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 519,865 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 338,121 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of MannKind by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 160,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 4,603 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MannKind by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 22,000 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MannKind by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 58,475 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 5,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MannKind by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 184,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 16,057 shares in the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.