Why MannKind Corp. Stock Briefly Dropped Today

What: MannKind Corp.'s stock briefly fell by 11% today after its marketing partnerSanofi reported its second-quarter sales for the inhaled insulin product Afrezza. According to the press release, Afrezza's second-quarter sales came in at a meager $2.2 million for the three month period and $3.3 million for the entire first half of the year--putting it well off of the track toward blockbuster status.

So what: MannKind is struggling mightily with its debt load, evinced by yesterday's Senior note exchange that saw the the company pay off a hefty portion of its $100 million loan amount with shares. So, the biotech desperately needs Afrezza's sales to pick up in hurry in order to avoid another having to dilute shareholders further.

Now what: MannKind is scheduled to report its second-quarter results in the second week of August, where investors will get a much needed update on the company's financial status, and perhaps more importantly, a bit more color on why Afrezza's sales are lagging. As a reminder, MannKind shares both profits and losses on Afrezza with Sanofi, meaning that the forthcoming second-quarter numbers probably won't be pretty. As such, you may want to avoid this stock for the time being.

The article Why MannKind Corp. Stock Briefly Dropped Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

George Budwell has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.