Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.57.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $59,000. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $112,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $126,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $145,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $13.53 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.18 and its 200 day moving average is $12.75. The stock has a market cap of $823.30 million, a PE ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 1.08.

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.