MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $2.83 and last traded at $2.92, with a volume of 5143296 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $3.50 price target (down from $7.50) on shares of MannKind in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wedbush cut their price objective on MannKind from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MannKind from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MannKind from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.06.

MannKind Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.31 and a 200-day moving average of $5.33. The stock has a market cap of $871.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.57 and a beta of 0.83.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $111.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.85 million. MannKind had a net margin of 1.68% and a negative return on equity of 11.21%. The business’s revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MannKind Corporation will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MannKind

In related news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,006 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $297,547.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 985,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,235,094.31. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Castagna sold 65,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.01, for a total transaction of $395,482.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,504,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,053,799.92. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 154,926 shares of company stock worth $945,726. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MannKind during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,297,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MannKind during the fourth quarter worth about $23,956,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of MannKind by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,623,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $82,914,000 after buying an additional 3,883,071 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in MannKind by 146.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,194,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,896,000 after acquiring an additional 3,088,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in MannKind by 316.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,467,721 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $18,622,000 after acquiring an additional 2,634,533 shares in the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.