Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 900,104 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,888 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Pliant Therapeutics were worth $11,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 459,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 160,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of PLRX opened at $1.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.58 million, a P/E ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.50. 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 $1.26 and a 12 month high of $16.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $148,624.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 80,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $904,668.80. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 in the last three months. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics 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.