Brokerages Set Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Target Price at $8.19

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.1875.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Sunday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $17.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 1.2%

Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.68 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.10 and a fifty-two week high of $16.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 12.99 and a current ratio of 12.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.27. The company has a market capitalization of $103.14 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.42.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.09). Research analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 307.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,958,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,336 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $815,000. Peapod Lane Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 893,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 251,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 119.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 35,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.