Analysts Set Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) PT at $3.93

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.9286.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 13.94, a quick ratio of 13.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.10 and a 12 month high of $12.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.49.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. As a group, analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.28, for a total transaction of $114,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 505,601 shares in the company, valued at $647,169.28. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 18,300 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $36,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PLRX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for fibrotic diseases. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Pliant applies a precision medicine approach to target integrin-mediated signaling pathways implicated in the development and progression of fibrosis across organ systems.

The company’s lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small molecule designed to inhibit both αvβ1 and αvβ6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).