Analysts Set Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Price Target at $48.44

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.44.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PLRX shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX opened at $14.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 17.72, a current ratio of 17.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.90. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $12.60 and a 52-week high of $30.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $897.58 million, a P/E ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 1.13.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 9,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $168,612.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,069 shares in the company, valued at $3,188,738.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 5,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $89,544.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 55,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $951,888.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 9,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $168,612.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,188,738.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,485 shares of company stock worth $869,857 over the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 29,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,698,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,905,000 after buying an additional 10,338 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 297,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.