MannKind Stock Soars, then Earnings Disappoint

Shares in MannKind Inc. zoomed up 43 percent Wednesday, but after the market closed the company reported that it seriously missed Wall Street expectations for earnings and revenue in the first quarter. The Valencia biotech company closed the day at $1.60, an increase of 48 cents. For the quarter ending March 31, MannKind reported a net loss of $16.3 million (-17 cents a share) on revenue of $3 million. That compares to a net loss of $24.9 million (-29 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of -9 cents on revenue of $17.5 million, according to Thomson Financial Network. MannKind has struggled to boost sales of its product, an inhalable insulin for diabetics. Wednesday was the third straight day of share price increases. That has been attributed to the announcement May 4 that MannKind was in a collaborative deal with digital consumer health company Informed Data Systems Inc. in New York and its diabetes treatment system One Drop. MannKind will add its Afreeza inhalable insulin as an offering through One Drop, which sells through its own website and on Amazon Prime.