Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.31.

PLRX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.42 and its 200 day moving average is $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $96.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.26 and a 52-week high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. Research analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,278.56. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $178,483.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 in the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $388,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $145,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,119,000 after acquiring an additional 19,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 52.6% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 106,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 36,720 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pliant Therapeutics

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis and related diseases in the United States. The company's lead candidate is bexotegrast, an oral, small-molecule, dual selective inhibitor of avß6 and avß1 integrins, which is in phase 2b trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in phase 2a trial for primary sclerosing cholangitis.