Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Rating Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $0.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.54 and a beta of 1.36. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.80 and a one year high of $1.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.15.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). On average, equities research analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $6,281,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 77.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,852,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 807,024 shares during the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,210,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,312,000. Finally, Eversept Partners LP raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 891,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 49,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing therapies for fibrotic diseases. The company’s research is centered on integrin biology, a field involving proteins that regulate cell communication and tissue remodeling. Pliant aims to develop medicines that address the underlying processes that drive fibrosis in organs such as the lungs and liver.

Pliant’s lead investigational product is bexotegrast, an oral, selective inhibitor of the integrins αvβ1 and αvβ6.