Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $4.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $41.00.

PLRX has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday. Seven research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $2.72 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.43 and a one year high of $18.00. The stock has a market cap of $165.52 million, a PE ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.03. 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 50 day moving average price of $12.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.79.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $178,483.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 64,422 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $112,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,725,000 after purchasing an additional 26,610 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 265.2% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 170,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 123,600 shares during the period. 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.