Short Interest in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Decreases By 51.0%

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a decrease of 51.0% from the January 31st total of 7,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX traded down $2.06 on Monday, reaching $1.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,435,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,010. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.37 and a 52-week high of $16.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.98 million, a P/E ratio of -0.41 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by $0.16. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PLRX shares. HC Wainwright cut Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the general counsel now owns 80,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,668.80. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $178,483.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 64,422 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $112,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,725,000 after purchasing an additional 26,610 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 265.2% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 170,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 123,600 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 31,221 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, 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.