HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $38.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price indicates a potential upside of 159.74% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PLRX. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Pliant Therapeutics stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 114,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,709. The company has a quick ratio of 14.47, a current ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.69. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The company has a market capitalization of $889.52 million, a PE ratio of -4.73 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large 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 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the period. 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.