Paulson & CO. Inc. Invests $719.52 Million in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $MDGL

Paulson & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,340,020 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $719,524,000. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 27.9% of Paulson & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Paulson & CO. Inc. owned approximately 5.80% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,039,650,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $644,753,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 461,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $268,693,000 after buying an additional 56,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 451,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $263,114,000 after buying an additional 5,510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDGL opened at $512.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $501.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.73 and a beta of -1.01. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $393.61 and a 52 week high of $615.00.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.99) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.68) by $0.69. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 25.32% and a negative return on equity of 56.65%. The firm had revenue of $364.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.90) earnings per share. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 71.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MDGL. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, July 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $685.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $578.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $605.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $964.00 to $962.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $699.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Shannon T. Kelley sold 664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,908,765.78. The trade was a 5.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider David Soergel sold 1,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,973,759.42. This trade represents a 9.41% 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. Company insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals 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.