Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Seven investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $7.79 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.94. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $7.18 and a one year high of $18.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.03.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.04. On average, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 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 $178,483.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $145,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $342,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pliant Therapeutics

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.