Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s What Happened

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)’s stock price was up 6.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.09 and last traded at $12.14. Approximately 83,431 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 471,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 11.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $769.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.84 and its 200 day moving average is $12.98.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.04. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at $775,278.56. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLRX. State Street Corp lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,725,000 after purchasing an additional 26,610 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 31,221 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,039,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,657,000 after purchasing an additional 14,913 shares during the last quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC now owns 513,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after purchasing an additional 16,850 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,119,000 after buying an additional 19,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.