Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Shares Acquired by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) by 233.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 91,979 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 64,422 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Pliant Therapeutics worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,959,088 shares of the company's stock worth $58,991,000 after buying an additional 173,172 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company's stock worth $51,827,000 after purchasing an additional 412,486 shares during the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 3,097,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,149,000 after buying an additional 400,572 shares in the last quarter. Great Point Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 2,636,864 shares of the company's stock worth $28,346,000 after buying an additional 785,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,377,327 shares of the company's stock worth $20,522,000 after buying an additional 464,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PLRX shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of PLRX traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $15.19. 232,390 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a current ratio of 14.47. The company has a market cap of $923.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.94 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day moving average is $12.96 and its 200-day moving average is $12.69. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.22 and a fifty-two week high of $19.62.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.07). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pliant Therapeutics Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis and related diseases in the United States. The company's lead candidate is bexotegrast, an oral, small-molecule, dual selective inhibitor of avß6 and avß1 integrins, which is in phase 2b trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in phase 2a trial for primary sclerosing cholangitis.