Pliant Therapeutics’ (PLRX) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer restated their market perform rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PLRX. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $41.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PLRX opened at $2.72 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.79. The stock has a market cap of $165.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 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. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.43 and a one year high of $18.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $178,483.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $587,092.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This represents a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 in the last three months. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,725,000 after acquiring an additional 26,610 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,045,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,770,000 after purchasing an additional 5,673 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 900,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,854,000 after purchasing an additional 66,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fernwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 3.4% in the third 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. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Company 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.