Insider Selling: Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) CEO Sells $114,400.00 in Stock

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of Pliant Therapeutics 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 $647,169.28. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.30 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1.10 and a 52 week high of $12.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 13.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.10. Research analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,504,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,291 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $3,153,000 after buying an additional 172,056 shares in the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 1,097,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after buying an additional 203,298 shares during the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 822,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 120,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 181.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 783,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 505,097 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several 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 note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.93.

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).