Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Invests $126,000 in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $865,000. Great Point Partners LLC lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 2,636,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,346,000 after buying an additional 785,000 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 35,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 9,950 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 253,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 177,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric Lefebvre sold 12,319 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $142,407.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 213,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,462,881.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Pliant Therapeutics news, insider Eric Lefebvre sold 12,319 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $142,407.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 213,052 shares in the company, valued at $2,462,881.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 7,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $88,503.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 94,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,087,148.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,596 shares of company stock valued at $804,530 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PLRX opened at $11.31 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.29 and a fifty-two week high of $19.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.88. The company has a current ratio of 14.47, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). Equities analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on PLRX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.