Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $312.11, but opened at $350.00. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $330.70, with a volume of 156,412 shares.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.90) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.48) by $1.58. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 50.54% and a negative net margin of 123.38%. The firm had revenue of $212.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($7.10) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1357.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MDGL. UBS Group boosted their target price on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $441.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $443.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $394.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $422.00) on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rebecca Taub sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 461,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,365,400. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Friedman sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.03, for a total value of $490,042.00. Following the sale, the director owned 187,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,513,014.92. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,377 shares of company stock worth $21,316,969. 21.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MDGL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 412.5% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 82 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 825.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 8.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $297.49 and a 200 day moving average of $312.32. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.78 and a beta of -1.02.

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.