Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Trading 4.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)’s stock price shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $11.84 and last traded at $11.75. 68,188 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 451,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PLRX shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eight investment 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 3.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $12.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.67. The company has a quick ratio of 14.47, a current ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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, research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $126,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 67.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

About Pliant Therapeutics

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.