MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) Short Interest Up 26.1% in December

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,732,896 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the December 15th total of 20,402,856 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,604,344 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days. Approximately 8.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 8.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,604,344 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days.

Insider Activity at MannKind

In related news, insider Stuart A. Tross sold 47,006 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $297,547.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 985,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,235,094.31. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sanjay R. Singh sold 18,777 shares of MannKind stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.03, for a total transaction of $94,448.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 455,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,711.33. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 281,623 shares of company stock worth $1,641,289. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MannKind

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MannKind during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,240,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MannKind by 68.3% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,316 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after buying an additional 177,440 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of MannKind by 12.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,617,583 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,494,000 after buying an additional 831,478 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MannKind by 11.2% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,872,286 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,424,000 after buying an additional 290,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TSP Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MannKind by 7.2% in the second quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 2,982,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,155,000 after buying an additional 201,225 shares during the last quarter. 49.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MannKind Stock Performance

Shares of MNKD stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $5.21. The company had a trading volume of 6,743,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,539. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.10 and a beta of 0.81. MannKind has a twelve month low of $3.38 and a twelve month high of $6.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.04.

MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.02. MannKind had a negative return on equity of 49.33% and a net margin of 9.32%.The firm had revenue of $82.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. MannKind’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that MannKind will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MNKD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on MannKind from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MannKind in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of MannKind from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of MannKind in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial set a $9.00 price objective on shares of MannKind in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MannKind presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.06.

MannKind Company Profile

MannKind Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products. The company’s core business revolves around its proprietary Technosphere® drug‐delivery platform, which is designed to enable rapid absorption of small‐molecule drugs through pulmonary administration. MannKind’s lead product, Afrezza®, is an inhaled insulin therapy intended for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, offering users a rapid‐acting alternative to traditional injectable insulins.

Afrezza received U.S.