Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $38.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of PLRX stock opened at $12.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a current ratio of 14.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.84 and a 200 day moving average of $13.13. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $10.29 and a 1-year high of $19.62.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 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 transaction of $88,503.36. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 94,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,087,148.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,596 shares of company stock valued at $804,530 over the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,282,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.