Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MDGL. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $578.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $605.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $685.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $710.20.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:MDGL opened at $513.21 on Wednesday. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $393.61 and a twelve month high of $615.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.81 and a beta of -0.98. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $527.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $513.78.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William Sibold sold 6,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $535.59, for a total value of $3,407,423.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 202,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,707,095.53. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Shannon T. Kelley sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.97, for a total value of $341,940.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 11,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,908,765.78. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,247 shares of company stock worth $6,581,182. 17.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDGL. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 27.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,018,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,051,727,000 after buying an additional 433,804 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $1,039,650,000. Paulson & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $719,524,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $644,753,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 825,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $443,367,000 after buying an additional 130,756 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: MDGL) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for cardiometabolic diseases, particularly nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, now commonly referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

The company’s lead product is Rezdiffra (resmetirom), an oral, thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist designed to target underlying liver disease. In 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Rezdiffra for use with diet and exercise to treat adults with noncirrhotic MASH and moderate to advanced liver fibrosis.