Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Strong-Buy Rating

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on MDGL. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $542.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $640.00 to $709.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $587.00 to $578.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $687.73.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MDGL stock opened at $551.25 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $516.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $499.64. 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 has a 1 year low of $286.44 and a 1 year high of $615.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.07 and a beta of -1.05.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.25) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.61) by $0.36. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 50.15% and a negative net margin of 27.32%.The firm had revenue of $311.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.05 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($3.32) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 126.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals will post -7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David Soergel sold 1,042 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,973,759.42. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.44, for a total transaction of $2,928,730.08. Following the sale, the director owned 22,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,347,411.60. This trade represents a 20.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,568 shares of company stock worth $3,880,711 in the last quarter. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $309,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $1,163,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 73.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,542 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,309,000 after purchasing an additional 7,438 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,416 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,087,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $418,000. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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-? agonist in Phase 3 development for the treatment of NASH.