Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group opened a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter, buying 2,300 shares valued at about $1.34 million.
• Insider selling continued at Madrigal, including CEO William John Sibold’s March sale and insider David Soergel’s May sale; over the past 90 days, insiders sold 12,624 shares worth about $5.99 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $311.34 million and earnings of -$3.25 per share, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $687.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,339,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MDGL. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, CEO William John Sibold sold 1,663 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.94, for a total value of $718,316.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 161,829 shares in the company, valued at $69,900,418.26. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David Soergel sold 844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.90, for a total value of $435,419.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,713,592.50. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,624 shares of company stock valued at $5,990,403. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDGL opened at $515.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.31 and a beta of -1.04. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $512.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.52. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.20 and a 52-week 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) earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $301.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($3.32) earnings per share. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 126.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDGL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $640.00 to $709.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America cut their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $529.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $687.00.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

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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