Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.57.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PLRX. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $107,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $112,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $126,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $15.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 14.47, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Pliant Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $10.22 and a twelve month high of $19.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.03 and its 200 day moving average is $12.73. The company has a market cap of $912 million, a PE ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

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.