Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given “Market Perform” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reissued their market perform rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on PLRX. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX opened at $3.07 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. The company has a market cap of $186.81 million, a PE ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 1.03. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.82 and a 12 month high of $18.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 23,685 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 157,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 29,583 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 64,422 shares in the last quarter. 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.