Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.31.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Pliant Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partnrs cut Pliant Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.33 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $81.64 million, a P/E ratio of -0.40 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.10 and a 1 year high of $16.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.18.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. Sell-side analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 5,196 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,557.6% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 59,209 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 55,637 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 68,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company's stock.

About Pliant Therapeutics

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.

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