Analyst Downgrades: Tetraphase, Flexion, and MannKind

Analysts are weighing in on drugmakers Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TTPH), Flexion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:FLXN), and MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on TTPH, FLXN, and MNKD.

• Unlike another of its drugmaker peers, TTPH is having a disastrous morning. The shares have plummeted 79% to $9.40 -- and panned an annual low of $9 -- after the company announced its experimental bowel drug failed in a late-stage study. The bearish brokerage notes have since poured in, with Nomura, for one, cutting the stock's rating to "neutral" from "buy," while slashing its price target to $10 from $54. Before today, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc had easily doubled on the charts during the past 12 months -- helping to explain why 100% of covering analysts considered the shares worthy of a "buy" or better endorsement -- but now finds itself in territory not seen since May 2014. 


• FLXN is suffering a similar fate this morning, with the shares sliding 30.4% after the company revealed its experimental pain drug failed in a mid-stage study. Short sellers are likely pleased with this news, however; specifically, short interest shot 42.2% higher during the most recent two-week reporting period. Now, it would take these bears almost seven days to repurchase their shares, at Flexion Therapeutics Inc's average daily trading pace. With FLEX trading at $20.18, it's now sitting 46.3% below its consensus 12-month price target of $37.60. Needham, though, just trimmed its price target on the equity to $28 from $31.


• Finally, MNKD is down 7.5% at $3.77, following a downgrade to "underweight" from "neutral," and a price-target cut to $1.50 from $4, at Piper Jaffray. In its note, the brokerage firm stated MannKind Corporation has "vastly over-estimated" the potential of its diabetes drug Afrezza. Despite historically outperforming in September, the stock has barely budged on a month-to-date basis. Longer term, MNKD has underperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 29.4 percentage points during the past 60 sessions. As such, short sellers have been piling on, with 45.6% of the stock's float sold short -- or 21.6 times the average daily trading level.