The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 1,191 Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,483 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.14% of Pliant Therapeutics worth $897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Point Partners LLC grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.4% during the second quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 2,636,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,346,000 after purchasing an additional 785,000 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 50.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,377,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,522,000 after purchasing an additional 464,860 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,827,000 after purchasing an additional 412,486 shares in the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 14.9% during the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 3,097,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,149,000 after purchasing an additional 400,572 shares during the period. Finally, Mass General Brigham Inc bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,301,000. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $13.65 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.22 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 14.47 and a quick ratio of 14.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.63. The company has a market capitalization of $829.92 million, a P/E ratio of -4.42 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PLRX. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

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.