Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) PT Raised to $38.00 at HC Wainwright

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) had its price target increased by HC Wainwright from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $44.86.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $12.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 14.47, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.01 and its 200 day moving average is $13.73. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $10.29 and a 52 week high of $19.62.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.07). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 38,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,740.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,261,249.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,596 shares of company stock valued at $804,530 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Great Point Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 2,636,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,346,000 after purchasing an additional 785,000 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 3,591,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,047,000 after acquiring an additional 658,516 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 50.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,377,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,522,000 after acquiring an additional 464,860 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,827,000 after acquiring an additional 412,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmile Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 14.9% during the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 3,097,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,149,000 after acquiring an additional 400,572 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.