Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from hold to sell, adding to a generally cautious analyst view on the stock.
• Other firms have also turned more conservative, with Canaccord Genuity and Piper Sandler both cutting their price targets to $3.00; the overall consensus rating is now Reduce.
• The stock has been under pressure, opening at $1.22 with a market cap of about $75.5 million, while the company recently reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and continues developing therapies for fibrotic diseases.

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

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PLRX. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX opened at $1.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 1.20. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $1.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.35.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.09. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company's stock.

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).

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