Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on PLRX. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.15 on Thursday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.09 and a 12-month high of $1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $71.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.27.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by $0.04. Analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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).