Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 134,937 Shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD - Free Report) by 401.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 134,937 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of MannKind worth $1,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MannKind in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of MannKind during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in MannKind during the second quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MannKind in the third quarter worth approximately $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.55% of the company's stock.

MannKind Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MNKD traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $6.84. The stock had a trading volume of 3,026,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,119,077. MannKind Co. has a 1 year low of $3.17 and a 1 year high of $7.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.71 and a beta of 1.30.

Insider Transactions at MannKind

In other MannKind news, CEO Michael Castagna sold 85,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total transaction of $536,167.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,294,836 shares in the company, valued at $14,457,466.80. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven B. Binder sold 5,055 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.94, for a total value of $30,026.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,075,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,385,654.44. This represents a 0.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 317,700 shares of company stock worth $2,089,358 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MNKD shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of MannKind to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on MannKind from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Leerink Partners started coverage on MannKind in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MannKind from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $8.67.

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.