Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives “Neutral” Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their neutral rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Pliant Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.90. The company has a market cap of $103.49 million, a P/E ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.26 and a 1 year high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the company’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 $178,483.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $112,000. 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.