Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from “hold” to “sell,” while Weiss Ratings also maintained a sell rating. The stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $3.00 target price.
• Shares opened at $1.07, near their 12-month low of $1.02, and the company recently reported a quarterly loss of $0.36 per share, missing estimates by $0.02.
• Institutional investors own 97.30% of Pliant’s shares, with several major funds increasing their positions. The clinical-stage biotech is developing therapies for fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 0.9%

PLRX opened at $1.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $66.25 million, a P/E ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 1.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.20. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.02 and a 12 month high of $1.95.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Equities research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Tang Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 6,143,132 shares of the company's stock worth $7,495,000 after buying an additional 139,686 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,281,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,504,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,291 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,130,489 shares of the company's stock worth $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 172,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM grew its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,938,747 shares of the company's stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,054 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pliant Therapeutics

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: PLRX is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for fibrotic diseases. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Pliant applies a precision medicine approach to target integrin-mediated signaling pathways implicated in the development and progression of fibrosis across organ systems.

The company's lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small molecule designed to inhibit both αvβ1 and αvβ6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source