Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its position in Madrigal by 0.2%, selling 3,160 shares to hold 1,808,894 shares (≈7.97%) valued at about $1.053 billion at quarter-end.
• Madrigal reported a large quarterly EPS miss—($2.57) vs. $0.04 expected—while revenue beat at $321.08 million, up 210.8% year-over-year.
• Institutional ownership is very high (≈98.5%), and insiders have been net sellers recently (6,098 shares worth ~$2.63 million sold in the last three months).

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,808,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,160 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.97% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals worth $1,053,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 709 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 138 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MDGL opened at $513.72 on Friday. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $615.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $483.13 and a 200 day moving average of $504.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of -39.92 and a beta of -1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 3.77 and a current ratio of 4.01.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 43.76% and a negative net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $321.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $310.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.71) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 210.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -5.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Shannon T. Kelley sold 360 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 value of $155,498.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 12,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,242,887.72. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,482,182.48. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,626,254 in the last three months. 21.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research set a $579.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $571.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $685.31.

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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