Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,220,446 Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. $PLRX

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired 1,220,446 shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. valued at approximately $1,642,000, representing about 1.99% ownership of the company.
• As of now, institutional investors hold a significant 97.30% of Pliant Therapeutics' stock, reflecting a broad interest among large investors.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with the stock receiving an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $8.19, despite a recent drop in price forecasts.

Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,220,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 1.99% of Pliant Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 555,600 shares of the company's stock worth $7,317,000 after buying an additional 53,584 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 4,570 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 127,295 shares of the company's stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 15,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,574 shares of the company's stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 21,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLRX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $17.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.19.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.43. The company had a trading volume of 987,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,408. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 12.99 and a quick ratio of 12.99. The firm has a market cap of $87.79 million, a PE ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.47. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.10 and a 1-year high of $16.10.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.09). Research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

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.