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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from "hold" to "sell," and the stock's consensus rating is now "Reduce" with a $3.00 average price target.
• Pliant shares opened at $1.24 (52‑week range $1.09–$1.95) with a market cap of about $76.8 million, a negative PE and analysts forecasting roughly -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Institutional ownership is very high (~97.3%), with recent stake increases by firms including Monaco Asset Management, while the company's lead candidate PLN‑74809 targets fibrotic diseases such as IPF and PSC.

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

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on PLRX. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.24 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.09 and a 52-week high of $1.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1.29 and a 200 day moving average of $1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.78 million, a PE ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.23.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eversept Partners LP lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 842,023 shares of the company's stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,116,054 shares during the last quarter. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $287,000. BML Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $1,886,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,383 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 15,349 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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