SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 47.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,741 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Pliant Therapeutics were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $126,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 99.8% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 20,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 9,992 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 221.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 27,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 18,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX stock opened at $15.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 14.47, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $924.16 million, a P/E ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 1.13. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.22 and a 12-month high of $19.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.62.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PLRX. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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 reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.57.

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.