Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD)

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 31.39% from the company’s current price.

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

MannKind Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNKD opened at $6.85 on Friday. MannKind has a 52 week low of $3.17 and a 52 week high of $7.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.86 and a beta of 1.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total transaction of $403,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 967,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,099,181.94. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of MannKind 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,075,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,267,175.76. The trade was a 5.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,587. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MannKind

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MannKind in the second quarter worth $55,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in MannKind in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of MannKind in the 3rd quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MannKind during the 3rd quarter valued at about $93,000. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.