MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.93, but opened at $6.11. MannKind shares last traded at $6.20, with a volume of 741,892 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

MannKind Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.00 and a beta of 1.28.

Insider Activity at MannKind

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.76, for a total transaction of $456,563.64. Following the completion of the sale, 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 that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total value of $403,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 967,191 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,075 shares of company stock worth $1,325,587. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in MannKind in the second quarter worth about $55,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of MannKind in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,816 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in MannKind during the second quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in MannKind in the third quarter worth $85,000. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MannKind Company Profile

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.