Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $2.61 EPS

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($2.61), FiscalAI reports. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 41.50% and a negative net margin of 39.04%.The business had revenue of $321.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.71) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 210.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ conference call:

• Madrigal reported a market-leading launch for Rezdiffra with Q4 sales of $321M, ~ $958M in its first full year, and >36,250 patients on therapy as the U.S. MASH market has expanded ~50% since end-2023.
• Management has rapidly expanded the pipeline to more than 10 programs—adding an oral GLP?1, a late?stage DGAT2 inhibitor (ervogastat) and six preclinical siRNAs—with a Phase 1 for the oral GLP?1 expected in Q2 and a DGAT2 combo Phase 2 planned for 2027.
• The company is pursuing indication expansion into compensated cirrhosis (F4c)—a ~245k patient opportunity—backed by 2?year open?label data showing 65% of CSPH patients moved to lower risk and an event?driven outcomes readout targeted in 2027.
• Payer contracting will push gross?to?net into the high?30% range in 2026 (a headwind to net sales) while R&D and SG&A remain elevated after deal upfronts, although the balance sheet holds roughly $989M in cash and marketable securities.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MDGL traded down $37.55 on Thursday, hitting $453.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 802,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,821. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $527.03 and a 200-day moving average of $480.76. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of -1.01. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $615.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.44 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul A. Friedman sold 24,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.18, for a total value of $13,694,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 187,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,348,217.52. The trade was a 11.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca Taub sold 18,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.15, for a total value of $10,297,597.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 461,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,565,444.60. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 101,495 shares of company stock worth $54,568,691. 21.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDGL. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $568.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $964.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $663.86.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and liver diseases. The company’s pipeline centers on novel, liver-directed agents designed to address significant unmet medical needs, with an emphasis on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and related metabolic disorders.

The lead product candidate, resmetirom (MGL-3196), is an orally administered, selective thyroid hormone receptor-? agonist in Phase 3 development for the treatment of NASH.