Short Interest in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Decreases By 51.0%

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a drop of 51.0% from the January 31st total of 7,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PLRX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.88.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 59.9 %

Shares of PLRX traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $1.38. The company had a trading volume of 19,435,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,010. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.81. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $83.98 million, a PE ratio of -0.41 and a beta of 1.03. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.37 and a 1-year high of $16.81.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.98) by $0.16. Research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $178,483.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of the firm’s 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 $148,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 80,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,668.80. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 157,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 29,583 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC now owns 513,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 16,850 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.