Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) Short Interest Update

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,062,862 shares, a decline of 41.5% from the June 30th total of 3,526,539 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 297,279 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Approximately 10.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 11.2%

NASDAQ:MDGL traded down $61.37 on Thursday, hitting $485.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,264,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,276. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $517.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.42. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $290.00 and a 1-year high of $615.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.93 and a beta of -1.05.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.99) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.68) by $0.69. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 27.32% and a negative return on equity of 50.15%. The firm had revenue of $364.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.90) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals will post -7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $542.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $578.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $685.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.33.

Insider Activity at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, insider David Soergel sold 1,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.74, for a total transaction of $516,561.08. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.44, for a total value of $2,928,730.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,015 shares in the company, valued at $11,347,411.60. This represents a 20.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,568 shares of company stock valued at $3,880,711. 17.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MDGL. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $309,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $1,163,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,438 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,416 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,087,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

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.