Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Shares Sold by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC cut its stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 20.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,604 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Pliant Therapeutics were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,827,000 after purchasing an additional 412,486 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,959,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,991,000 after buying an additional 173,172 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,372,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 253,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 177,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 52.0% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 833,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,957,000 after acquiring an additional 285,216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PLRX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating 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 note on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PLRX stock opened at $13.46 on Tuesday. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.22 and a 52 week high of $19.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.75. 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 has a market capitalization of $819.04 million, a PE ratio of -4.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Pliant Therapeutics 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.