Leerink Partners Initiates Coverage on Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Equities researchers at Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective points to a potential upside of 154.24% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PLRX. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $12.98 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.23. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $10.29 and a 52-week high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 14.47 and a quick ratio of 14.47.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). As a group, analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 7,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $88,503.36. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 94,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,087,148.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Pliant Therapeutics news, insider Eric Lefebvre sold 12,319 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $142,407.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 213,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,462,881.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 7,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $88,503.36. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 94,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,087,148.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,596 shares of company stock worth $804,530. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,682,000 after buying an additional 5,990 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 342,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,197,000 after buying an additional 71,369 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,579,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,606,000 after buying an additional 62,173 shares during the period. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 3,591,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,047,000 after buying an additional 658,516 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.