MannKind Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MNKD)

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 3,498 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,818 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MNKD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of MannKind in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $7.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on MannKind in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.76, for a total value of $456,563.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,075,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,267,175.76. The trade was a 5.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 owns 967,191 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 190,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,587. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in MannKind by 22.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MannKind in the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in MannKind during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in MannKind during the third quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MannKind in the third quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

MannKind Trading Down 4.0 %

NASDAQ MNKD opened at $6.74 on Thursday. MannKind has a 1 year low of $3.17 and a 1 year high of $7.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.08.

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.