Madrigal Pharma insiders cut stakes after earnings

Several senior executives at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. executed stock sales on Friday, March 6, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The transactions involved the company’s chief executive officer, chief financial officer and general counsel.

CEO William John Sibold sold 1,663 shares at an average price of $431.94, for proceeds of $718,316.22. Following this transaction, he directly owns 161,829 shares, valued at about $69.9 million, representing a 1.02% reduction in his stake.

CFO Mardi Dier sold 1,982 shares at an average price of $430.87, for total proceeds of $853,984.34. Her remaining 12,490 shares are valued at roughly $5.38 million, a 13.70% decrease in her ownership. General Counsel Shannon Kelley sold 360 shares at $431.94 per share, for $155,498.40, leaving her with 12,138 shares valued at about $5.24 million, a 2.88% reduction.

These March 6 transactions follow earlier insider sales this year. On March 2, Mardi Dier sold 1,183 shares at an average price of $427.21 for $505,389.43. On January 26, William John Sibold sold 1,577 shares at an average price of $492.42, realizing $776,546.34.

On the day of the reported insider sales, Madrigal’s stock fell 1.5%, losing $6.51 to close at $432.83. Trading volume was 440,127 shares, above the average of 374,182 shares. The company’s 52-week trading range spans from $265.00 to $615.00.

Madrigal has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.63, with a beta of -0.97. Liquidity metrics include a quick ratio of 3.77 and a current ratio of 4.01, while the debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.56. The 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages are $492.64 and $486.72, respectively.

In its most recent reported quarter, announced on Thursday, February 19, Madrigal posted a loss of $2.57 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a $0.04 profit by $2.61. Revenue came in at $321.08 million, ahead of the $310.36 million analyst forecast.

The company reported a negative return on equity of 43.76% and a negative net margin of 30.08%. Quarterly revenue grew 210.8% compared with the same period a year earlier, when Madrigal recorded a loss of $2.71 per share. Analysts as a group expect a full-year loss of $23.47 per share.

Equity research coverage remains broadly positive. Across the cited reports, one analyst has assigned a Strong Buy rating, twelve rate the shares Buy, three rate them Hold and one rates them Sell. MarketBeat data show an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $685.31.

Recent target price updates include Oppenheimer lifting its target to $650 with an “outperform” rating and Truist Financial raising its target to $640 with a “buy” rating. Barclays (BARC.L) initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating and a $964 price objective, while other firms such as Canaccord Genuity Group, Citigroup, TD Cowen, Goldman Sachs and Wolfe Research have also issued positive recommendations.

Institutional investors hold about 98.50% of Madrigal’s outstanding shares. Large holders include Wellington Management Group LLP, Norges Bank, Adage Capital Partners, Baker Bros. Advisors LP and Deutsche Bank AG, each of which has recently increased or established positions in the company.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals is described as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and liver diseases. Its pipeline is centered on novel, liver-directed agents targeting areas of significant unmet medical need.

The company’s lead product candidate is resmetirom (MGL-3196), an orally administered, selective thyroid hormone receptor-β agonist in Phase 3 development for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and related metabolic disorders.