MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Trading 5.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) shares were up 5.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $6.30 and last traded at $6.28. Approximately 1,142,572 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 2,651,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MNKD shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $7.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on MannKind in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MannKind presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $8.86.

MannKind Stock Up 5.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.14 and a beta of 1.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.76, for a total value of $456,563.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,075,026 shares in the company, valued at $7,267,175.76. This trade represents a 5.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total transaction of $403,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 967,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,099,181.94. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MannKind

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNKD. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MannKind during the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in MannKind during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in MannKind by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in MannKind in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MannKind in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

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.