Short Interest in MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) Grows By 26.1%

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,732,896 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the December 15th total of 20,402,856 shares. Currently, 8.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,604,344 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,604,344 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days. Currently, 8.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Truist Financial set a $9.00 price target on MannKind in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MannKind in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of MannKind in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.06.

MannKind Trading Down 6.6%

Shares of MannKind stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.21. 6,743,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,008,539. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.10 and a beta of 0.81. MannKind has a twelve month low of $3.38 and a twelve month high of $6.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.04.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.02. MannKind had a net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 49.33%. The business had revenue of $82.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MannKind will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MannKind

In related news, CEO Michael Castagna sold 65,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $395,482.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,504,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,053,799.92. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,006 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $297,547.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 985,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,235,094.31. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 281,623 shares of company stock worth $1,641,289 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of MannKind by 19.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 55,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 9,160 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 6,079 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in MannKind by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 670,872 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,374,000 after buying an additional 53,202 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MannKind by 1,379.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,396 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 6,896 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of MannKind during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

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.