Stifel Nicolaus analyst Derek Archila initiated coverage with a Hold rating on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc (MDGL) today and set a price target of $126. The company’s shares opened today at $104.82, close to its 52-week low of $89.83.
Archila wrote:
“We believe resmetirom’s Phase 2b data are encouraging on NASH resolution and emerging evidence continues to point to the possibility resmetirom could demonstrate a benefit on fibrosis over time. We are positively biased heading into Phase 3 however; we see few company specific catalysts to drive shares upward in the next ~12-18 months and think the stock could be volatile around updates from competitors (i.e. VKTX, GNFT, etc.) – this leads to our Hold rating. Ultimately, we feel MDGL will largely remain range bound before it reports Phase 3, 52-week data in 2H21 and based on our diligence for our NASH white paper (link here), we suspect any strategic acquirer would want to confirm resmetirom’s safety/efficacy profile and gain some commercial validation for the NASH category, as a whole, before paying a large price tag for MDGL. So a near-term takeout is unlikely, in our view.”
According to TipRanks.com, Archila is currently ranked with no stars on a 0-5 star ranking scale, with an average return of -8.5% and a 33.6% success rate. Archila covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc, Principia Biopharma Inc, and Pacira Pharmaceuticals.
The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc with a $169 average price target.
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The company has a one-year high of $315 and a one-year low of $89.83. Currently, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc has an average volume of 187.3K.
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Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. engages on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutic candidates for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, and liver diseases. Its lead product, MGL-3196, is used for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and familial hypercholesterolemia.
