MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) Shares Purchased by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in MannKind Co. (NASDAQ:MNKD) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,475 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 5,585 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MannKind were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MNKD. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MannKind by 22.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of MannKind by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 21,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MannKind by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 42,730 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,214 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in MannKind by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 101,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in MannKind by 3.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 160,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MNKD. Royal Bank of Canada raised MannKind from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $7.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of MannKind in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MannKind from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MannKind presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.07.

MannKind Price Performance

NASDAQ:MNKD opened at $5.79 on Monday. MannKind Co. has a 1-year low of $3.17 and a 1-year high of $7.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 82.71 and a beta of 1.29.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04. The company had revenue of $70.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.27 million. MannKind had a negative return on equity of 17.74% and a net margin of 8.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MannKind Co. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MannKind

In related news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 967,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,099,181.94. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven B. Binder sold 67,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,075,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,267,175.76. This trade represents a 5.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,075 shares of company stock worth $1,325,587 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.