2,490 Shares in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Acquired by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $388,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 4.0 %

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $11.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $680.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $18.00.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.04. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Insider Transactions at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,278.56. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $587,092.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This represents 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. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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.