Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives $48.44 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.44.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PLRX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of PLRX opened at $14.55 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $12.60 and a 12 month high of $30.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.19 and its 200-day moving average is $15.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $876.49 million, a PE ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 17.72, a quick ratio of 17.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insider Transactions at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, insider Hans Hull sold 9,786 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $168,612.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,069 shares in the company, valued at $3,188,738.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Hans Hull sold 9,786 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $168,612.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,069 shares in the company, valued at $3,188,738.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 5,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $89,544.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 55,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $951,888.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,485 shares of company stock worth $869,857. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 97.3% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 18.4% in the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 144.3% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.