UBS Group AG Trims Position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 52.8% in Q4, selling 114,702 shares and leaving it with 102,641 shares valued at about $59.8 million (0.45% ownership).
• Madrigal missed quarterly EPS at ($2.57) vs. a $0.04 estimate, though revenue rose to $321.1 million (up 210.8% YoY), and the company remains unprofitable with negative margins and an expected full-year EPS of -5.49.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 98.5%, insiders sold shares recently (including the CEO), and analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $685.31 price target.

UBS Group AG cut its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) by 52.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 114,702 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 0.45% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals worth $59,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,141,701 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $982,313,000 after acquiring an additional 165,683 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 388.3% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 15,288 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,012,000 after acquiring an additional 12,157 shares during the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,776,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 69,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,773,000 after acquiring an additional 8,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

MDGL opened at $518.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 3.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $483.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $505.30. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $615.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.30 and a beta of -1.04.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($2.61). Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.08% and a negative return on equity of 43.76%. The firm had revenue of $321.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.71) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 210.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MDGL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays began coverage on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $964.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $529.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $685.31.

Insider Activity at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, CEO William John Sibold sold 1,663 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.94, for a total transaction of $718,316.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 161,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,900,418.26. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carole Huntsman sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.94, for a total transaction of $180,982.86. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,482,182.48. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,626,254 in the last three months. Company insiders own 21.50% of the company's stock.

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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