Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL 16.33%) were soaring 15.2% higher as of 11:05 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The big gain came after the small biopharmaceutical company announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results before the market opened.

Madrigal reported fourth-quarter revenue of $103.3 million, all of which stemmed from sales of Rezdiffra, the first drug approved for treating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The company posted a net loss in Q4 of $59.4 million, or $2.71 per share.

Those results blew past consensus Wall Street expectations. The average analyst's estimate was for Q4 revenue of $87.7 million and a net loss of $4.48 per share.

What investors especially liked

Madrigal's revenue beat shouldn't have come as a surprise. The company announced preliminary Q4 results on Jan. 13, 2025 that projected Rezdiffra net sales of between $100 million and $103 million. Investors no doubt liked that Madrigal exceeded the top end of this range.

However, what investors especially liked was that Madrigal's momentum should continue. CEO Bill Sibold said in the Q4 update that the company is "well positioned for strong performance again in 2025 and beyond." Madrigal's announcement on Wednesday of new two-year data from a phase 3 study of Rezdiffra adds to the optimism about the company's MASH drug.

Is Madrigal Pharmaceuticals stock a buy?

Small biotech stocks usually aren't a great fit for risk-averse investors. However, I think aggressive growth investors might want to consider buying Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' shares.

Some analysts project that Rezdiffra could generate peak annual sales of close to $3.5 billion. With Madrigal's market cap hovering around $7.7 billion, the stock should have more room to run.