Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $38.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on PLRX. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Pliant Therapeutics stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 404,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,043. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The company has a quick ratio of 14.47, a current ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $912 million, a PE ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.73.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). Analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $107,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $112,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 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.