American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by 15.7%, acquiring an additional 21,457 shares during the first quarter, leading to a total ownership of approximately $52.4 million.
• Insider trading activity shows that Directors Rebecca Taub and Paul A. Friedman sold 43,263 and 129,172 shares respectively, resulting in a significant decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, with firms like Canaccord Genuity and B. Riley raising their target prices, reflecting a general consensus of a "Moderate Buy" rating among seven analysts.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,457 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.71% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals worth $52,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 10,104 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 118,024 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $39,093,000 after purchasing an additional 69,107 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,795 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 304.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1,895.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,574 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,796,000 after purchasing an additional 28,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Paul A. Friedman sold 129,172 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.24, for a total transaction of $47,824,641.28. Following the sale, the director directly owned 187,164 shares in the company, valued at $69,295,599.36. The trade was a 40.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William John Sibold sold 7,616 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.18, for a total value of $3,047,770.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,753 shares in the company, valued at $43,920,955.54. The trade was a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 165,683 shares of company stock worth $61,921,142 and sold 301,740 shares worth $109,461,331. 21.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDGL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $523.00 price target (up previously from $458.00) on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $483.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $460.00 price objective (up from $422.00) on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $445.71.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDGL traded up $7.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $414.68. 465,908 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 461,278. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.27 and a beta of -1.02. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $200.63 and a 52 week high of $419.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.11 and a quick ratio of 4.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.75.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.90) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.48) by $1.58. The company had revenue of $212.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $158.94 million. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 38.38% and a negative net margin of 54.68%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1357.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($7.10) EPS. Analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -23.47 EPS for the current year.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Profile

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapeutics for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in the United States. Its lead product candidate is resmetirom, a liver-directed thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for treating NASH.