Kazazian Asset Management LLC Sells 4,295 Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL)

Key Points

• Kazazian Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 81.8%, selling 4,295 shares and retaining only 955 shares, valued at approximately $316,000.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their holdings in Madrigal, notably Woodline Partners and Renaissance Technologies, which boosted their positions by over 100% and 261%, respectively.
• Research firms have raised their price targets for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, with Canaccord Genuity setting a new objective of $420.00 and multiple analysts maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.

Kazazian Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 955 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,295 shares during the quarter. Kazazian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,220 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 166.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $35,514,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 340.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 410,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $126,719,000 after purchasing an additional 4,923 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MDGL. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $460.00 target price (up previously from $422.00) on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $428.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $443.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $441.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $421.63.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ MDGL traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $338.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 346,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,283. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $297.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.32. The company has a quick ratio of 5.58, a current ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.63 and a 1 year high of $377.46. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.73 and a beta of -1.02.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.90) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($3.48) by $1.58. The business had revenue of $212.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $158.94 million. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 50.54% and a negative net margin of 123.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1357.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($7.10) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -23.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Rebecca Taub sold 26,444 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.47, for a total value of $9,347,160.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 461,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,965,222.68. The trade was a 5.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Friedman sold 26,176 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.47, for a total value of $9,252,430.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 187,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,156,859.08. This trade represents a 12.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,377 shares of company stock valued at $21,316,969 in the last 90 days. 21.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

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.