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

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of MannKind in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho lowered their price target on MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $3.50 price target (down from $7.50) on shares of MannKind in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MannKind from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.56.

MannKind Stock Performance

MNKD stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.78. 348,329 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,440,836. The firm has a market capitalization of $856.91 million, a PE ratio of 138.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.82. MannKind has a 52 week low of $2.23 and a 52 week high of $6.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MannKind news, CEO Michael Castagna acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.59 per share, for a total transaction of $259,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,575,911 shares in the company, valued at $6,671,609.49. The trade was a 4.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MannKind

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MNKD. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MannKind by 19.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 55,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 9,160 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MannKind by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 210,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 6,079 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of MannKind by 8.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 670,872 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 53,202 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MannKind by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,352,017 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after buying an additional 404,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of MannKind by 84.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 37,381 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 17,150 shares in the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.