Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Price

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) had its price target dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $4.00 to $3.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 97.37% from the company’s current price.

PLRX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.50 million, a PE ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.66. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.26 and a 12-month high of $16.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $587,092.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $14,761,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 21,637 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 127,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 15,635 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 4,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,197,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,105,000 after buying an additional 92,564 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.