Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Reduce” rating on Pliant Therapeutics, with two sells, one hold, and one buy; the average 12-month price target is $3.00.
• PLRX shares opened at $1.17 and were up 3.5%, but remain near their 12-month low of $1.02. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.36 per share, missing estimates by $0.02.
• Institutional investors own 97.3% of the stock, while several hedge funds recently initiated or increased positions. Pliant is developing therapies targeting fibrotic diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the four analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PLRX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Spark Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.17 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.02 and a 12-month high of $1.95. The company has a market cap of $72.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.19.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: PLRX is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for fibrotic diseases. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Pliant applies a precision medicine approach to target integrin-mediated signaling pathways implicated in the development and progression of fibrosis across organ systems.

The company's lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small molecule designed to inhibit both αvβ1 and αvβ6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

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