Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.57.

Several brokerages have issued reports on PLRX. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 4,607 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.52. The stock had a trading volume of 333,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,088. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.64. Pliant Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $10.22 and a twelve month high of $19.62. The firm has a market cap of $882.83 million, a PE ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 14.47, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

About Pliant Therapeutics

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.