Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,228,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 297,759 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.31% of Pliant Therapeutics worth $42,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company's stock worth $15,725,000 after buying an additional 26,610 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,781,000 after acquiring an additional 31,221 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,039,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,657,000 after acquiring an additional 14,913 shares during the period. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 20.6% during the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 149,600 shares of the company's stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628 over the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ PLRX traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.42. 211,024 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,388,437. The firm has a market cap of $86.65 million, a P/E ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.10 and a 12-month high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PLRX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.31.

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.