Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 10,643 Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 197.5% in the first quarter, buying 10,643 additional shares and bringing its total to 16,033 shares worth about $8.39 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with large investors like Baker Bros., Wellington, Geode, William Blair, and Invesco also adding to positions; institutions now own 98.5% of the company.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including director Richard S. Levy and insider David Soergel, while analysts currently rate MDGL a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $687.93.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) by 197.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,033 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 10,643 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals worth $8,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MDGL. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,141,701 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $982,313,000 after purchasing an additional 165,683 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $268,693,000 after buying an additional 56,947 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 451,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $263,114,000 after buying an additional 5,510 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 411,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $188,877,000 after buying an additional 61,513 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 365,314 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $212,737,000 after buying an additional 65,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In related 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 value of $2,928,730.08. Following the sale, the director owned 22,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,347,411.60. The trade was a 20.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.74, for a total value of $516,561.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,973,759.42. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,568 shares of company stock valued at $3,880,711 over the last ninety days. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDGL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $587.00 to $578.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $649.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $542.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $687.93.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of MDGL stock opened at $512.65 on Monday. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $284.02 and a 12 month high of $615.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.05 and a beta of -1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $508.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.61) by $0.36. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 50.15% and a negative net margin of 27.32%.The business had revenue of $311.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $301.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($3.32) earnings per share. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 126.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -7.3 EPS for the current year.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Company 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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