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

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.31.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.58 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.11 and a 200 day moving average of $11.50. 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 one year low of $1.26 and a one year high of $16.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,668.80. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $178,483.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628 over the last 90 days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company 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.