Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Downgraded to “Equal Weight” Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $4.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $41.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright lowered Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 60.6 %

Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $3.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $186.81 million, a price-to-earnings 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. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.82 and a 12 month high of $18.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $145,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $342,000. 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.