Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.9167.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 505,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $36,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8%

PLRX stock opened at $1.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.58 million, a P/E ratio of -0.43 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 twelve month low of $1.09 and a twelve month high of $3.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.45.

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).