Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives $8.19 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Key Points

• Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from thirteen brokerages, with an average 1-year price target set at $8.1875.
• Following a quarterly earnings report that showed a miss on earnings per share, Piper Sandler significantly lowered its price target from $17.00 to $4.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The company is experiencing institutional interest, with approximately 97.30% of its stock being owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.1875.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PLRX. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $17.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Sunday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $108,000. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 4,570 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ PLRX traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.68. The company had a trading volume of 630,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,765. The company's fifty day moving average is $1.44 and its 200-day moving average is $2.27. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.10 and a one year high of $16.10. The company has a current ratio of 12.99, a quick ratio of 12.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $102.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.42.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.09). On average, sell-side analysts predict 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.