Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on PLRX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.11 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.02 and a fifty-two week high of $1.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.19. The stock has a market cap of $68.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.74 and a beta of 1.27.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). On average, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,210,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,312,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,281,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $611,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 77.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,852,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 807,024 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing therapies for fibrotic diseases. The company’s research centers on integrins, cell-surface proteins that regulate biological processes involved in tissue repair and fibrosis. Pliant seeks to develop medicines that address fibrosis in organs including the lungs and liver.

Pliant’s lead investigational product is bexotegrast, an oral small-molecule inhibitor designed to selectively target the alphaV beta6 and alphaV beta1 integrins.