Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Hold Rating at Canaccord Genuity Group

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $4.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $43.00. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 53.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PLRX. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 15.0 %

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $2.61 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.42 and its 200 day moving average is $12.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.82 million, a PE ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 1.03. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $2.60 and a 1 year high of $18.00. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the business’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 $178,483.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,449.60. The trade was a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $108,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $145,000. 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.