MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) shares dropped 3.4% after VP David Thomson sold 30,000 shares in the open market on Thursday July 17th. The shares were offloaded at an average price of $9.42 for a total of $282,600.00 according to SEC filing. Post news, the stock traded as low as $9.30 and closed at $9.35 with a volume of 4,010,268 shares changing hands.
Declining short interest for MannKind
Short interest in MannKind declined in the month of June totaling to 67,874,816 shares as of June 30th, a decline of 2.2% compared to the June 13th total of 69,425,357 shares. Presently, 28.7% of its stocks are sold short. On the basis of the average daily trading volume, of 14,447,082 shares, the short-interest ratio for the company is 4.7 days.
Recently, the shares have been subjected to a number of analyst’s screening. Zacks maintained a Neutral rating on the stock, assigning it the price target of $10.00, in a research note to the investors on July 9th. Analysts at ISI Group downgraded the shares from Buy to Hold rating, in a research note to the investors on July 1st, assigning it a price target of $11.00. Separately, analyst at MLV&Co lowered their rating from Buy to a Hold, in a research note to the investors on Tuesday, July 1st. Overall, MannKind has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $9.94.
Afrezza to push stock higher
The company’s most prominent drug Afrezza has been approved by FDA recently, as treatment indication for patients with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The drug company’s founder and chief executive Alfred E. Mann said, in an interview to LosAngeles Times, that Afrezza will be successful because it is better than Exubera and insulin injections.
Adnan Butt, RBC Capital Markets analyst noted in a report that the demand for the drug is expected to be larger in the future.”Afrezza would be the most convenient, discreet and rapid-acting insulin alternative for diabetes, one of the largest pharmaceuticals markets,” Butt said.
Butt, also, said that Afrezza could reach $5 billion to $7 billion in annual sales, and added that the stock of the company could reach $16 per share within per year.
In the pre-market trading, Mannkind shares were up 1.18% at $9.40. Year to date, share are up over 74%.
