Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Stock Price Up 7.4% – Here’s What Happened

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) shares rose 7.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $277.96 and last traded at $293.05. Approximately 200,354 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 428,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $375.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $427.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.67.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 5.98 and a quick ratio of 5.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $314.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.69.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($6.94) by $2.02. The business had revenue of $62.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($5.34) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -23.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Fred B. Craves sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.30, for a total transaction of $1,191,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,114,380. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert E. Waltermire sold 442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.41, for a total transaction of $120,847.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,907.78. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,408 shares of company stock worth $4,489,207. Corporate insiders own 22.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 116.8% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $414,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 198.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,454 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,049,000 after purchasing an additional 9,616 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 607 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.