MannKind Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MNKD)

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 6,849 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 66% compared to the average daily volume of 4,126 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at MannKind

In related news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 16,940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $55,732.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 808,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,658,346.32. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MannKind

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNKD. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in MannKind by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 55,333 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 9,160 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in MannKind by 3.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,079 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of MannKind by 8.6% in 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 worth $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 53,202 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of MannKind by 42.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,352,017 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,057,000 after purchasing an additional 404,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the period. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MannKind Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MNKD opened at $4.05 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.92. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -57.85 and a beta of 1.09. MannKind has a fifty-two week low of $2.23 and a fifty-two week high of $6.51.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.03). MannKind had a negative return on equity of 11.21% and a negative net margin of 6.63%.The firm had revenue of $90.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. MannKind’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MannKind will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNKD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $11.00 target price on MannKind and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. HC Wainwright increased their price target on MannKind from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on MannKind from $3.50 to $4.75 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MannKind from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.97.

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. The company's product pipeline also includes Tyvaso DPI (Treprostinil), an inhalation powder for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease; MNKD-101, a nebulized formulation of clofazimine, for the treatment of severe chronic and recurrent pulmonary infections, including nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease; MNKD-201, a dry-powder formulation of nintedanib, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).