Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Stock Moved Up to "Strong-Buy" by The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs upgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to “strong buy,” while analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $710.20.
• Madrigal reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with an adjusted loss of $1.99 per share versus the $2.68 estimate and revenue of $364.25 million, up 71.2% year over year.
• MDGL shares opened at $513.21, near their 200-day moving average, while insiders sold $6.58 million of stock over the past 90 days; institutional investors own 98.5% of shares.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MDGL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $605.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $964.00 to $962.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $542.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $710.20.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MDGL opened at $513.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $527.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $513.78. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $393.61 and a twelve month high of $615.00. The company has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.81 and a beta of -0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.99) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.68) by $0.69. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 56.65% and a negative net margin of 25.32%.The company had revenue of $364.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.90) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 71.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals will post -7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO William Sibold sold 6,362 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $535.59, for a total transaction of $3,407,423.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 202,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,707,095.53. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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. Also, General Counsel Shannon Kelley sold 664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 11,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,908,765.78. The trade was a 5.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 12,247 shares of company stock valued at $6,581,182 over the last ninety days. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDGL. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 35.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,114 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company's stock.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc NASDAQ: MDGL is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for cardiometabolic diseases, particularly nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, now commonly referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

The company's lead product is Rezdiffra (resmetirom), an oral, thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist designed to target underlying liver disease. In 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Rezdiffra for use with diet and exercise to treat adults with noncirrhotic MASH and moderate to advanced liver fibrosis.

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