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

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MDGL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $542.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $964.00 to $962.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $685.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.20.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ MDGL opened at $513.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $527.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $513.78. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $393.61 and a one year high of $615.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a current ratio of 3.20. The firm has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of -39.81 and a beta of -0.98.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.99) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.68) by $0.69. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 71.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.90) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals will post -7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, CEO William Sibold sold 5,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $542.39, for a total transaction of $2,831,818.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 197,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,255,452.94. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 Kelley sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.97, for a total transaction of $341,940.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,908,765.78. This trade represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,247 shares of company stock valued at $6,581,182. 17.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,051,727,000 after purchasing an additional 433,804 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $1,039,650,000. Paulson & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $719,524,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $644,753,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 825,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $443,367,000 after acquiring an additional 130,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.