Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $215.93, but opened at $245.66. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $244.25, with a volume of 231,826 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MDGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $381.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $382.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $405.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.75.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.58 and a beta of -0.44. The company has a current ratio of 8.72, a quick ratio of 8.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.90.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($7.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.55) by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $14.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 million. The firm’s revenue was up 146280.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($4.69) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -27.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Madrigal Pharmaceuticals news, CEO William John Sibold sold 6,363 shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.83, for a total value of $1,551,490.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,887 shares in the company, valued at $13,626,927.21. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 23.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 1,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 104 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 36.8% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 145 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 213 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

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.