Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $491.49, but opened at $452.02. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $450.3060, with a volume of 428,933 shares changing hands.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.57) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($2.56). Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 39.04% and a negative return on equity of 41.50%. The company had revenue of $321.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.71) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 210.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MDGL. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $571.00 price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays began coverage on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $964.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research set a $579.00 price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $663.86.

Insider Activity at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Paul A. Friedman sold 24,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.18, for a total transaction of $13,694,064.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 187,164 shares in the company, valued at $103,348,217.52. This represents a 11.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William John Sibold sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.34, for a total transaction of $1,380,816.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 150,074 shares in the company, valued at $86,343,575.16. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,495 shares of company stock worth $54,568,691. Corporate insiders own 21.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 12,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,725,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 969 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $536,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 412.5% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 82 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 6,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $527.03 and its 200-day moving average is $480.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.44, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of -1.01.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Company 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.