MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 695 Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,818 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDGL. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 159.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,279 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,549,000 after purchasing an additional 24,783 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,383 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDGL has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $378.00 to $469.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $443.00 price target on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $422.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $409.00.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of MDGL stock opened at $326.79 on Friday. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $191.18 and a 52-week high of $377.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.03 and a beta of -0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $325.91 and its 200-day moving average is $310.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 5.93 and a current ratio of 5.98.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.32) by $1.61. The business had revenue of $103.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.81 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -23.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director James M. Daly sold 15,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.45, for a total value of $5,375,051.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $664,324.40. This represents a 89.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert E. Waltermire sold 1,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.07, for a total transaction of $418,492.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,271,508.96. This trade represents a 24.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,810 shares of company stock worth $10,610,594. Company insiders own 22.80% of the company’s stock.

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.