Nuveen LLC Invests $315,000 in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. $PLRX

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics, purchasing approximately 233,585 shares valued at about $315,000 during the first quarter.
• Pliant Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($0.71) EPS, missing analyst projections and is currently projected to post -3.64 EPS for the year.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average price target of $8.19 after research ratings were recently adjusted.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 233,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $315,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.38% of Pliant Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 547,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,206,000 after buying an additional 91,131 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 555,600 shares of the company's stock worth $7,317,000 after purchasing an additional 53,584 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,551,865 shares of the company's stock worth $33,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

PLRX traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 290,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 870,327. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 12.99, a current ratio of 12.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1.10 and a 12 month high of $16.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $17.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.19.

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.