BlackRock Inc. Makes New $1.31 Million Investment in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. $PLRX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 1.15 million shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.31 million and representing about 1.86% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 97.3% of PLRX.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: PLRX has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a $3.00 target price, with one Buy, one Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• Pliant Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of $0.36 per share, missing estimates by $0.02. Shares opened at $1.16, near the lower end of their 12-month range, while the company continues developing therapies for fibrotic diseases.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,151,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 1.86% of Pliant Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PLRX. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $2,210,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $185,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $199,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 3,402.0% during the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,257,000 after buying an additional 2,511,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eversept Partners LP raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 891,425 shares of the company's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 49,402 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PLRX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.16 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1.02 and a 12 month high of $1.95. The firm has a market cap of $71.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.20.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About Pliant Therapeutics

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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