Is MannKind Becoming A Penny Stock? Vetr Crowd Isn't Optimistic

A couple of months ago, the Vetr crowd issued a 5 star rating on shares of MannKind Corporation MNKD.

Since then, the stock price has fallen about 40 percent from above $3.10 to under $1.90.

Now, the Vetr crowd has decided to downgrade the company to 1 star.

Broadly speaking, the Vetr crowd is becoming increasingly bearish on MannKind. The stock was downgraded the stock from 5 stars to 1 star, even though 75 percent of the crowd's ratings are still bullish; The site’s formula considers several factors on top of Buy, Hold or Sell ratings to award stars.

The Strong Sell rating is accompanied by a $1.38 crowd target price, which implies a downside of almost 25 percent from current valuations.

Wall Street analysts used to be more bullish on the stock as well, but are now becoming increasingly bearish. Analysts at Griffin Securities downgraded MannKind from Buy to Neutral, while RBC Capital trimmed its rating from Outperform to Underperform and its price target from $9.00 to $1.00. According to the firm, a physician survey indicated sluggish Afrezza growth due to modest patient interest or awareness, cost and access issues.

Piper Jaffray’s Joshua E. Schimmer is also bearish. He recently reiterated an Underweight rating and $1.50 price target on the stock, saying both Q3 and outlook appear dismal, with liquidity concerns likely to persist.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.