Short Interest in MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) Drops By 30.4%

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 28,800,000 shares, a drop of 30.4% from the December 15th total of 41,360,000 shares. Approximately 10.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 7th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of MannKind in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $7.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $9.07.

MannKind Trading Up 0.3 %

MNKD stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.05. The company had a trading volume of 530,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,016. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.43 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.65 and a 200 day moving average of $6.23. MannKind has a fifty-two week low of $3.17 and a fifty-two week high of $7.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MannKind news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total transaction of $403,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 967,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,099,181.94. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,536 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $465,323.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,075,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,929.14. This trade represents a 5.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MNKD. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in MannKind by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,597,137 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $60,366,000 after acquiring an additional 40,338 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MannKind by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,338,928 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,880,000 after acquiring an additional 24,031 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in MannKind by 189.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,744,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,766,000 after acquiring an additional 3,107,598 shares during the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MannKind by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 3,304,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,783,000 after acquiring an additional 894,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in MannKind by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,648,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company’s stock.

About MannKind

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.