Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives Neutral Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

PLRX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Leerink Partners downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ PLRX traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1.55. 3,907,686 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 919,591. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.83 and its 200-day moving average is $10.68. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.26 and a 12-month high of $16.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.92 million, a P/E ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26.

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Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $178,483.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction 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 represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

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

Pliant Therapeutics Company 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.