Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Rating Lowered by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on PLRX. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 12.6 %

PLRX stock opened at $1.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $92.50 million, a PE ratio of -0.46 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.60 and its 200 day moving average is $11.66. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.26 and a one year high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. On average, research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the company’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 $587,092.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $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.