The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Position in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,215 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.12% of Pliant Therapeutics worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Great Point Partners LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.4% during the second quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 2,636,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,346,000 after buying an additional 785,000 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 833,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,957,000 after purchasing an additional 285,216 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 253,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 177,469 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $1,372,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $865,000. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLRX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

PLRX opened at $13.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $842.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.76. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.22 and a 12-month high of $19.62.

Pliant Therapeutics Profile

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.