Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate MDGL a "Moderate Buy" — 17 firms cover the stock (1 sell, 3 hold, 12 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of about $685.31.
• Madrigal's latest quarter showed a mixed report: EPS of ($2.57) missed the $0.04 consensus by $2.61, while revenue of $321.08M beat estimates and rose ~211% year-over-year; the company remains unprofitable with negative margins and ROE.
• Insider and institutional activity stands out: insiders sold 55,612 shares (~$28.3M) last quarter and own 21.5% of the stock, while hedge funds and institutions hold about 98.5% of shares, with major managers (Baker Bros., Wellington, Adage) increasing positions.

Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $685.3077.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $900.00 target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 19th. 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 target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $579.00 target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, Director Rebecca Taub sold 491 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.94, for a total transaction of $212,082.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 452,213 shares in the company, valued at $195,328,883.22. This trade represents a 0.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Shannon T. Kelley sold 360 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.94, for a total transaction of $155,498.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 12,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,242,887.72. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 55,612 shares of company stock worth $28,326,065 in the last quarter. 21.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $982,313,000 after buying an additional 165,683 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $268,693,000 after acquiring an additional 56,947 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 451,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $263,114,000 after acquiring an additional 5,510 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 411,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $188,877,000 after acquiring an additional 61,513 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 96.3% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 376,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $113,842,000 after acquiring an additional 184,554 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ MDGL opened at $529.84 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average is $465.13 and its 200-day moving average is $491.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.17 and a beta of -1.00. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $615.00.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.57) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $321.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.71) EPS. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 210.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals will post -23.47 EPS for the current year.

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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