HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 96,211 Shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD - Free Report) by 67.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 96,211 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in MannKind were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MannKind by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,039 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in MannKind by 14.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 21,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of MannKind by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 160,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of MannKind by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 58,475 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,585 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of MannKind by 3,294.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 6,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company's stock.

MannKind Stock Performance

Shares of MNKD traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $4.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,021,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,387,894. The company's 50-day moving average is $5.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.15. MannKind Co. has a 12 month low of $3.97 and a 12 month high of $7.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 67.71 and a beta of 1.22.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.03. The business had revenue of $76.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.99 million. MannKind had a negative return on equity of 17.74% and a net margin of 8.07%. Equities analysts anticipate that MannKind Co. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of MannKind in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on MannKind in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded MannKind from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MannKind from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.21.

MannKind 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.