MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.93, but opened at $6.11. MannKind shares last traded at $6.20, with a volume of 741,892 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MNKD. StockNews.com lowered MannKind from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 7th. Leerink Partners started coverage on MannKind in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MannKind has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $8.67.

MannKind Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.86 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MannKind news, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,536 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total value of $465,323.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,075,026 shares in the company, valued at $7,406,929.14. This represents a 5.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.34, for a total value of $403,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 967,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 190,075 shares of company stock worth $1,325,587. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MannKind

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MNKD. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in MannKind in the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of MannKind in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MannKind during the second quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of MannKind during the third quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company's stock.

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.