MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on MannKind from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MannKind in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of MannKind in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of MannKind in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.06.

MannKind Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of MannKind stock opened at $5.63 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.26. MannKind has a 1-year low of $3.38 and a 1-year high of $6.51. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.30 and a beta of 0.84.

Insider Transactions at MannKind

In other news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,006 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total value of $297,547.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 985,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,235,094.31. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Castagna sold 65,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total value of $395,482.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,504,792 shares in the company, valued at $15,053,799.92. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 262,846 shares of company stock worth $1,546,840 in the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MannKind

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNKD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MannKind by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,880,873 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $101,385,000 after acquiring an additional 250,290 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in MannKind during the third quarter worth about $61,297,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in MannKind by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,617,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,494,000 after purchasing an additional 831,478 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in MannKind by 146.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MannKind by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,443,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,195,000 after buying an additional 426,921 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.