Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ price target to $760 from $725 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 89.72% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 15 buy ratings, two holds and one sell; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $701.53.
• Madrigal reported quarterly revenue of $431.27 million and EPS of $1.83, exceeding analyst expectations, while institutional investors own approximately 98.5% of the company’s shares.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $725.00 to $760.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 89.72% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MDGL. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $704.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $685.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $735.00 target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $605.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $701.53.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

MDGL stock traded down $30.55 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $400.60. 1,136,596 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 332,888. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.02 and a beta of -1.04. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $398.13 and a 52 week high of $615.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 3.20.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $2.92. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 56.65% and a negative net margin of 25.32%. The firm had revenue of $431.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $404.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($5.08) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals will post -7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Shannon T. Kelley sold 664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.97, for a total transaction of $341,940.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 11,474 shares in the company, valued at $5,908,765.78. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William Sibold sold 6,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.59, for a total value of $3,407,423.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 202,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $108,707,095.53. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,247 shares of company stock worth $6,581,182. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MDGL. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 27.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,018,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,051,727,000 after purchasing an additional 433,804 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,039,650,000. Paulson & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $719,524,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $644,753,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 825,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $443,367,000 after purchasing an additional 130,756 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and other chronic liver diseases. The company is headquartered in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

Madrigal's lead product is Rezdiffra (resmetirom), an orally administered thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist designed to target key drivers of liver disease, including hepatic fat accumulation and fibrosis.

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