Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX opened at $2.72 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $165.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.79. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $2.43 and a 1 year high of $18.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This represents a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $148,624.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 80,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,668.80. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 95,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.