Why MannKind Corporation (MNKD) Shares Popped on Friday

Shares of MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) initially surged sharply higher by over 20% on Friday before pulling back after Bloomberg reported that domestic retail prescriptions of MannKind’s inhaled-through-mouth insulin drug, Afrezza, came in at 288 scripts for the week ended on March 31. That’s 13% better than the 256 scripts in the prior week. Although the numbers show improvement, some traders faded the pop due to the thought that MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) may need to eventually raise capital at some point to sustain its operations. Afrezza would need to show continued and marked improvement in order for MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) to deliver any sort of acceptable return to shareholders.

What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

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Elite fund sentiment surrounding MannKind has been stable. 7 elite funds had a bullish position in MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) at the end of the fourth quarter, unchanged from that of the previous quarter. Those numbers are out of the 742 top funds that we track. In terms of equity activity, D E Shaw upped its holding by 347% to 5.27 million shares. Meanwhile, Scopia Capital sold out of the stock.

The Bottom Line

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) shares have popped higher due to news that domestic Afrezza prescriptions rose 13% sequentially. For more reading, check out ‘10 Countries That Export The Most Sugar in the World‘.

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