Citi analyst Joel Beatty lowered his price target for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals to $166 from $173 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. He continues to believe that Madrigal's Resmetirom is one of the most promising agents in later-stage development for the treatment of earlier-stage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, particularly those with dyslipidemia. The analyst expects the stock to trade up as the ongoing Phase 3 study progresses, possibly completing enrollment in 2020.

As previously reported, BofA analyst Alexandria Hammond initiated coverage of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals with an Underperform rating and $150 price target. The commercial stage company has received the first FDA approval for fatty liver disease, also known as MASH, though investors have "largely moved past Rezdiffra's best-case scenario FDA approval" and payer pushback given Rezdiffra's $47,000 annual price tag could prompt a slow launch, perpetuating a "short the launch thesis" and providing further downside potential for shares, the analyst argues.