Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Earns Hold Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $10.00 price objective on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Leerink Partners cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $33.00 to $2.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 12.6 %

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

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the transaction, the general counsel now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 quarter. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. Silverarc Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $17,326,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,761,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,551,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,608,000 after buying an additional 1,017,500 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,556,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 300.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 197,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after buying an additional 148,039 shares during the last quarter. 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.