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

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on PLRX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.28. The stock has a market cap of $73.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 1.19. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.09 and a fifty-two week high of $1.95.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.04. On average, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 68,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 222.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 362,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 250,185 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 475,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 29,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 1,875.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,514,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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).