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

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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 $3.00.

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

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

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

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares during the period. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $79.88 million, a P/E ratio of -0.53 and a beta of 1.32. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $1.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.26 and a 200-day moving average of $1.42.

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

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).