Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Hold Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $10.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $4.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.31.

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Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,636,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,791. The firm has a market cap of $98.58 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's 50 day moving average is $8.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.50. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.26 and a 52 week high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $178,483.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,761,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 21,637 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 127,295 shares of the company's stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 15,635 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,197,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,105,000 after purchasing an additional 92,564 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by 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.