Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Invests $8.56 Million in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 649,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,556,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 1.07% of Pliant Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% during 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. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $256,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of PLRX traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.69. 762,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,065,619. The company has a market capitalization of $103.74 million, a PE ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.46. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.10 and a 1-year high of $16.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1.61 and a 200 day moving average of $8.44. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLRX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics 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.