Pliant Therapeutics' (PLRX) Underweight Rating Reiterated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• Pliant Therapeutics (PLRX) has had its "underweight" rating reiterated by JPMorgan Chase & Co., reflecting analysts' caution regarding the stock's performance.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a loss per share of ($0.71), missing analysts' expectations, which could impact investor confidence.
• Despite the negative outlook, institutional investors hold a significant stake in Pliant Therapeutics, with 97.30% of shares owned by them, indicating potential long-term interest in the firm.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating reissued by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on PLRX. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $17.00 to $4.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.19.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7%

PLRX stock opened at $1.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.99, a current ratio of 12.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.10 and a fifty-two week high of $16.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.47. The stock has a market cap of $94.54 million, a PE ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.40.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.09). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 18,300 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 119.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 35,540 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 19,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company's stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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.

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