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

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

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PLRX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Silverarc Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,326,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $14,761,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,551,865 shares of the company's stock worth $33,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,500 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,556,000. Finally, Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $867,000. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1.57. 55,015 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,200,081. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.10 and a fifty-two week high of $16.52. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.64 and a 200 day moving average of $8.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.07 million, a PE ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 1.46.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. On average, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics 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.