Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) by 82.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,239 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,022 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 2,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 32.9% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 84,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,468,000 after buying an additional 21,042 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $357,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of MDGL opened at $467.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.25 and a beta of -1.05. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $290.00 and a 1 year high of $615.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $516.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $499.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.16.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.99) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.68) by $0.69. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 55.04% and a negative net margin of 25.32%.The firm had revenue of $364.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.90) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 71.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, insider David Soergel sold 1,042 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.74, for a total value of $516,561.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,973,759.42. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard S. Levy sold 5,682 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.44, for a total transaction of $2,928,730.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,347,411.60. The trade was a 20.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,568 shares of company stock worth $3,880,711. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Madrigal Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rezdiffra continues to drive strong revenue growth. Second-quarter revenue reached $364.25 million, up 71.2% year over year and above the $352.13 million analyst consensus, reflecting continued demand for the company’s MASH drug. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Updates
• Positive Sentiment: The quarterly loss was narrower than expected. Madrigal reported a loss of $1.99 per share, beating estimates ranging from $2.55 to $2.68 per share, although the loss was wider than the $1.90-per-share loss recorded a year earlier. Madrigal Reports Q2 Loss, Beats Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. Wells Fargo assigned Madrigal an Overweight rating, providing a positive signal for the company’s outlook. Madrigal Earns Overweight Rating from Wells Fargo
• Neutral Sentiment: Madrigal’s earnings call and quarterly presentation highlighted Rezdiffra’s contribution to the business and the company’s ongoing development efforts, but investors are weighing the pace of the commercial launch against the stock’s elevated valuation. Madrigal Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell despite the earnings beat. Investors appear concerned that Rezdiffra’s commercial growth is moderating, making the strong year-over-year revenue increase less compelling and raising expectations for evidence of sustained prescribing and sales momentum. MDGL Stock Down Despite Q2 Beat

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MDGL. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $542.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $685.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays set a $962.00 price objective on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.20.

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.