Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports.

PLRX has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PLRX stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $12.28. The company had a trading volume of 451,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,305. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.91. The company has a current ratio of 16.12, a quick ratio of 16.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Pliant Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $10.29 and a twelve month high of $19.88.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.02). On average, analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $126,131.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,261,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 38,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $447,487.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,936 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,740.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 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 value of $126,131.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,261,249.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,596 shares of company stock worth $804,530. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 4.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,959,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,991,000 after acquiring an additional 173,172 shares during the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 3,591,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,047,000 after acquiring an additional 658,516 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,827,000 after acquiring an additional 412,486 shares during the last quarter. Redmile Group LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 400,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Point Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 1,823,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,018,000 after acquiring an additional 68,000 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.