Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.31.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 price objective 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 2.0 %

PLRX stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.51. 356,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,518. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.57. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.10 and a 1-year high of $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The company has a market cap of $92.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.46.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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.