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

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) saw 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 average volume of 1,818 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 1,075,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,267,175.76. This trade represents a 5.91 % decrease in their position. 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 the 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,587 over the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MannKind in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in MannKind by 22.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in MannKind in the second quarter valued at about $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 acquired a new stake in shares of MannKind during the third quarter valued at about $93,000. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of MannKind to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on MannKind in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MannKind currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.88.

MannKind Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of MNKD opened at $6.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 96.29 and a beta of 1.28. MannKind has a 52-week low of $3.17 and a 52-week high of $7.63.

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.