Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives $8.19 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.1875.

Several analysts have issued reports on PLRX shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Sunday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $17.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX stock opened at $1.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.90 million, a P/E ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.34. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.10 and a fifty-two week high of $16.10. The company has a quick ratio of 12.99, a current ratio of 12.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.09). Sell-side analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 5,196 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570 shares during the period. 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.