MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.0625.

MNKD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $3.50 price objective (down from $7.50) on shares of MannKind in a research report on Friday, February 27th. 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. Zacks Research cut shares of MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut MannKind from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MannKind news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,006 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $297,547.98. Following the transaction, the insider owned 985,007 shares in the company, valued at $6,235,094.31. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Castagna acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $2.59 per share, with a total value of $259,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,575,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,671,609.49. This represents a 4.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in MannKind by 12.5% during the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in MannKind by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 162,217 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MannKind by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 200,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of MannKind by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 33,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of MannKind by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

MannKind Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MNKD opened at $2.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $702.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.06 and a beta of 0.83. MannKind has a 1-year low of $2.25 and a 1-year high of $6.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.14.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $111.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.85 million. MannKind had a net margin of 1.68% and a negative return on equity of 11.21%. The business’s revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MannKind will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

About MannKind

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.