Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 183.37% from the stock’s previous close.

PLRX has been the subject of several other reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.67.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $13.41 on Tuesday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $11.21 and a 1 year high of $24.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 17.72 and a quick ratio of 17.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.25 and a 200 day moving average of $15.41. The firm has a market cap of $808.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.81 and a beta of 1.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLRX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 97.3% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $197,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.