Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a "sell" to a "hold", but MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a consensus target price of $3.00 and analysts split across Buy/Hold/Sell opinions.
• PLRX shares opened at $1.20 (1‑year range $1.09–$1.95) with a market cap of about $74.3M; the company reported Q1 EPS of ($0.35) beating estimates, while analysts expect FY EPS of -1.51.
• Pliant is a clinical‑stage biopharma developing antifibrotic therapies, led by oral candidate PLN‑74809, which targets αvβ1 and αvβ6 integrins for IPF and PSC.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

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

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

PLRX stock opened at $1.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.30 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.20. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.09 and a 1 year high of $1.95.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $337,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 545,016 shares of the company's stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 78,032 shares during the last quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 2.3% during the fourth 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. Torno Capital LLC lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Torno Capital LLC now owns 320,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 189,084 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 160.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 97,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 60,296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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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