Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Downgraded by HC Wainwright to Neutral

HC Wainwright cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 60.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $3.07 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $2.82 and a 52 week high of $18.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $12.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.94. The company has a market cap of $186.81 million, a PE ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $148,624.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 80,774 shares in the company, valued at $904,668.80. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $145,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.