Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Trading 7.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL)’s share price shot up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $550.33 and last traded at $548.71. 172,602 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 347,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $640.00 to $709.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore set a $649.00 price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $578.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $699.64.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of -42.57 and a beta of -1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $501.54.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.99) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.68) by $0.69. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 25.32% and a negative return on equity of 56.65%. The business had revenue of $364.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.90) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 71.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Shannon T. Kelley sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.97, for a total transaction of $341,940.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 11,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,908,765.78. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider David Soergel sold 1,042 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.74, for a total transaction of $516,561.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,759.42. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $309,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,163,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 73.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,542 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,309,000 after purchasing an additional 7,438 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,416 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,087,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $418,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.