Brokerages Set Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) PT at $3.93

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.9286.

PLRX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 13.93 and a current ratio of 13.94. The firm has a market cap of $76.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.52. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.10 and a one year high of $15.00.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 110,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 9,244 shares during the last quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 20.4% during the second quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC now owns 60,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 10,220 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 17.7% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 104,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 15,692 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 18,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 119.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 35,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 19,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.