Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Trading 0.9% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) were up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.14 and last traded at $1.14. Approximately 321,031 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 453,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PLRX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $70.59 million, a PE ratio of -0.62 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.24.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by $0.04. As a group, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tang Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 6,143,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,495,000 after purchasing an additional 139,686 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 91.8% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,504,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,291 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 3,402.0% in the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 2,585,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after buying an additional 2,511,307 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,130,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after buying an additional 172,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,938,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 1,116,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

About Pliant Therapeutics

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PLRX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for fibrotic diseases. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Pliant applies a precision medicine approach to target integrin-mediated signaling pathways implicated in the development and progression of fibrosis across organ systems.

The company’s lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small molecule designed to inhibit both αvβ1 and αvβ6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).