Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Lowered to “Sector Perform” Rating by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $4.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $45.00.

Separately, HC Wainwright cut Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.75.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 60.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $3.07 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $2.82 and a 52 week high of $18.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The company has a market cap of $186.81 million, a PE ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $145,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% 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.