Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $469.95 and last traded at $444.64, with a volume of 1249004 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $412.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $266.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $523.00 price objective (up from $458.00) on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $428.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $524.73.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 4.78 and a current ratio of 5.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.60 and a beta of -1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $434.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.57.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($5.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by ($3.07). Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 38.38% and a negative net margin of 54.68%.The company had revenue of $287.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.33 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -23.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO William John Sibold sold 7,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.63, for a total transaction of $3,243,740.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,665,488.62. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Bate sold 10,000 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.20, for a total value of $3,652,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,627 shares in the company, valued at $959,380.40. This represents a 79.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 165,683 shares of company stock worth $61,921,142 and have sold 248,642 shares worth $91,388,103. 21.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,566 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,681,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $437,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 106.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,105,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,068 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

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.