Affinity Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 23,869 Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Key Points

• Affinity Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 76.7% in the first quarter, buying 23,869 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 55,000 shares worth about $28.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $687.93, though Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell rating while several firms maintained or raised buy/outperform views.
• Recent insider activity was mixed to negative, as directors and executives sold shares over the past few months, including Richard S. Levy and David Soergel, totaling 7,568 shares sold valued at about $3.88 million.

Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) by 76.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,869 shares during the period. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.5% of Affinity Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.24% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals worth $28,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 94 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MDGL shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $640.00 to $709.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $649.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $687.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, Director Richard S. Levy sold 5,682 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.44, for a total transaction of $2,928,730.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,015 shares in the company, valued at $11,347,411.60. This represents a 20.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David Soergel sold 1,042 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.74, for a total value of $516,561.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,759.42. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,568 shares of company stock valued at $3,880,711 over the last three months. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MDGL opened at $544.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.54 and a beta of -1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $516.10 and a 200 day moving average of $500.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.16. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $286.44 and a 1-year high of $615.00.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.25) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.61) by $0.36. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 27.32% and a negative return on equity of 50.15%. The business had revenue of $311.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $301.05 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($3.32) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 126.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Profile

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and liver diseases. The company's pipeline centers on novel, liver-directed agents designed to address significant unmet medical needs, with an emphasis on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and related metabolic disorders.

The lead product candidate, resmetirom (MGL-3196), is an orally administered, selective thyroid hormone receptor-β agonist in Phase 3 development for the treatment of NASH.

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