Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Shares Up 3.2%

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) was up 3.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $11.12 and last traded at $11.10. Approximately 7,753 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 424,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PLRX shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $45.38.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 16.12, a quick ratio of 16.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.05.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.02). On average, research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLRX. Redmile Group LLC increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 14.9% during the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 3,097,220 shares of the company's stock worth $46,149,000 after purchasing an additional 400,572 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 4.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,959,088 shares of the company's stock worth $58,991,000 after purchasing an additional 173,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 50.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,377,327 shares of the company's stock worth $20,522,000 after purchasing an additional 464,860 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 99.8% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 20,006 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 9,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% during the first 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. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.