Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.00.

PLRX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler cut 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, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.28, for a total value of $114,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 505,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $647,169.28. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,875.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,514,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386,789 shares during the last quarter. BML Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $1,886,000. Prosight Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 7,493.8% during the fourth quarter. Prosight Management LP now owns 1,555,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,257 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 307.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,958,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,336 shares during the period. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,938,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,054 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.29 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.09 and a one year high of $1.95. The stock has a market cap of $79.88 million, a PE ratio of -0.53 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.42.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.09. As a group, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Pliant Therapeutics

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).