1,315,601 Shares in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Purchased by Silverarc Capital Management LLC

Silverarc Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,315,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,326,000. Pliant Therapeutics accounts for about 3.8% of Silverarc Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Silverarc Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.16% of Pliant Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $256,000. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 653,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,407. The stock has a market cap of $89.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.44 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.72. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.10 and a 1 year high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Pliant Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.31.

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.