Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $377.46 and last traded at $355.88, with a volume of 1187957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.49.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.71) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.32) by $1.61. The firm had revenue of $103.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.81 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDGL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $427.00 price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 10th. B. Riley raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $236.00 to $422.00 in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $378.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Carole Huntsman sold 347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.24, for a total transaction of $116,328.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,499,235.12. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James M. Daly sold 15,470 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.45, for a total value of $5,375,051.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,324.40. This trade represents a 89.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,160 shares of company stock worth $8,067,652. 22.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MDGL. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $114,717,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,749,000. Paulson & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Paulson & CO. Inc. now owns 2,042,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $433,353,000 after purchasing an additional 192,000 shares during the period. Braidwell LP purchased a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,010,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 110.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 309,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,384,000 after buying an additional 162,027 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 5.93 and a current ratio of 5.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.05. The company has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of -13.61 and a beta of -0.38.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapeutics for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in the United States. Its lead product candidate is resmetirom, a liver-directed thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for treating NASH.