Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on PLRX. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $45.38.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of PLRX opened at $12.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 16.12 and a quick ratio of 16.12. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $10.29 and a one year high of $20.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.39.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.02). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $126,131.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 38,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $447,487.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 482,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,740.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,596 shares of company stock valued at $804,530 in the last 90 days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,945,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,072,000 after buying an additional 168,454 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $426,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 353.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 55,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.