Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Price Up 11% – Time to Buy?

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) was up 11% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.48 and last traded at $12.48. Approximately 312,527 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 355,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 12.4 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The firm has a market cap of $768.59 million, a P/E ratio of -3.78 and a beta of 1.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 108,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 16,634 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 95,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,822 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 20.6% in the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 149,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,039,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,657,000 after purchasing an additional 14,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 31,221 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.