Canaccord Genuity Group Has Lowered Expectations for Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Price

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) had its price objective reduced by Canaccord Genuity Group from $4.00 to $3.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 122.22% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PLRX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of PLRX opened at $1.35 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $1.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 13.94 and a quick ratio of 13.93. The stock has a market cap of $82.96 million, a PE ratio of -0.55 and a beta of 1.32.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.06. Equities analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.28, for a total transaction of $114,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 505,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,169.28. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tang Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 6,143,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,495,000 after purchasing an additional 139,686 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 91.8% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,504,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,291 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,130,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 172,056 shares in the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,938,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosight Management LP increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 7,493.8% in the fourth quarter. Prosight Management LP now owns 1,555,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,535,257 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).